Coffee Girl
by khaddict
Summary: The hero world is full of long patrols, sleepless nights, and work that lasts far into the evening. It's no wonder the Justice league had become coffee addicts, and it's also no wonder why they like the young barista that owns the twenty-four hour coffee bar in Keystone city. Honestly, their addiction was all Flash's fault anyway.
1. Chapter 1

"Black French roast for Stephanie?" I asked, stepping over to the table by the window that overlooked the street. The woman sitting there looked at me sharply, but her eyes softened when she saw the steaming cup in my hands. Nodding at me, she took the cup and continued her phone call quietly, something about stocks and inventory.

Returning to my spot behind the counter, I reached for a cup and started polishing, taking comfort in the smell of ground coffee beans and the nice aroma of creamer sitting only a few feet behind me.

I ran a little coffee shop in Keystone City, home to the famous Flash. Many people described their cities by the heroes that protected it, and Keystone was no different. If anything, we were insanely proud to play host to the fastest man alive. My coffee shop got a lot of business due to its downtown location, and the hero was one of my more frequent visitors.

Closing my eyes and letting my mind wander, I listened to the soft notes of a piano playing overhead from the speakers situated around the shop. I created the environment to be soothing and quiet, something that was hard to come by in this age of bustling people and exciting events.

"Hey Erin, my usual please, plus five of those strawberry things if you can spare them." A voice said, just as a gust of wind blew my wild hair away from my face and the small jingle of a bell reached my ears. I opened my eyes to find the city's protector looking at me expectantly. I raised an eyebrow at the man, wondering if he had just dashed over here for some post-battle coffee. I had literally just seen him on the news fighting Gorilla Grod for some inane reason or another. I never really did like to keep up with how the news reports were detailing villain's plans and aspirations. I only ever tuned in to make sure that Flash wasn't getting himself blown up.

My run-ins with the hero all started three years ago when I just opened the shop.

 _"_ _Excuse me, are you open?" A voice asked excitedly. I had already put in a ten hour shift and was gearing up for another two hours before my other barista got there when this guy showed up, decked in his super suit and fiddling with his thumbs,_

 _"_ _We're open twenty-four hours." I said politely, turning to him with a tired smile. "What can I get for you?"_

 _The Flash looked at me as if he were seeing me for the first time. I could only imagine what I looked like; wavy black hair falling messily from my ponytail to contrast against my brown eyes with bags under them, off-white button down and wrinkled red skirt along with my dirtied black apron that screamed a long shift had been pulled._

 _I made sure that my employees had a dress code, so it was only fair that I followed it as well._

 _"_ _Well, I'd like your number to start." The Flash grinned flirtatiously and, maybe because I was exhausted or maybe because I was already stressed enough, I rolled my eyes at the hero._

 _"_ _Sorry sir, we don't have a drink or snack under the name 'your number' but I'll be sure to check our secret menu the next time I'm asked." I said calmly. The Flash blinked for a second before throwing out a laugh._

 _"_ _Well, if that's right, then I'll take four double tall dark roasts, one with a lot of sugar and cream, one with two sugars, another with just cream, and one straight black." The flash said, counting off on his finger. I raised an eyebrow before turning to the machines._

 _"_ _Doing the coffee run?" I asked conversationally._

 _"_ _Taking the midnight shift?" He asked back._

 _"_ _Might as well since I own the place." I said with a shrug, and I could almost hear his jaw pop as it dropped. "I don't think it's fair for the newbies to take on the hard jobs. Most of them are dealing with more college classes than I am."_

 _"_ _Er… how old are you?" he asked sheepishly and I felt a smile spread on my face._

 _"_ _Twenty." I answered simply before taking the coffee and pouring four cups and labeling them by the order. I didn't dare ask the names that would make me look hella interested and suspicious. Heroes must want their privacy respected, and I'd have to cater to that if I wanted to keep any as a customer._

 _"_ _How'd you get enough money to start up a business so young?" He asked, leaning over the pastry display case as if it were second nature to him. I shrugged before handing him the drink carrier with the drinks labeled nicely in it._

 _"_ _Legally, I promise." I answered simply before moving to the display and pulling several pastries and labeling them by order to go with. "Here, on the house."_

 _"_ _Oh, you really shouldn't—I mean," He started but I shook my head._

 _"_ _Honestly, you save the world multiple times. It's the least I can do to thank you." I said with a sincere smile. "Now go do your job, you … hero you?"_

 _The flash blinked at me as I just thought over my last sentence. I blinked twice and laid my head on the counter._

 _"_ _Ignore me, I haven't slept in twenty hours." I mumbled into the glass._

 _I heard the Flash start to laugh and he didn't stop for a few seconds._

 _"_ _Oh wow, thanks for that." He said after he was done, wiping a nonexistent tear from his cowl. "I feel like I should pay you for just that."_

 _"_ _I'm never speaking of this again. I never met you, this never happened." I groaned, and I felt a pat over my head._

 _"_ _But I will speak of this and remember it." He said. "Get some sleep, I don't want a repeat of this next time I get coffee."_

 _"_ _What repeat, I don't know what you're talking about." I said, head still not lifted from the glass. "I don't think I even know you."_

 _"_ _Yeah, uh-huh, sure." He said, grabbing the coffee and pastries. "Bye, have a nice night."_

 _Only after the ringing of the bell stopped did I lift my head from the counter and re-evaluate my life._

"For here or to go?" I asked, moving towards the machine.

"Well, that depends," he said, leaning across the pastry display case, "on if you'll accept my offer for a date."

I laughed at that, shaking my head good naturedly. It was true, the famous Flash had asked me out countless times. Now, of course he was joking but it did leave a girl to wonder.

"You know I can't go around dating heroes when I have a job to do." I said, pulling the five pastries into a bag as the coffee started. Many people were already situated outside the shop, watching the scene from the windows. "If you really want to date someone that badly though, I'd suggest my sister. She likes the hero thing, might give it a shot."

The Flash looked at me with an eyebrow raised… or I assume he raised an eyebrow. It's hard to tell with the suit and cowl on.

"Oh come on, she's a nice girl." I said, turning back to the coffee. "She's smart and funny, and she runs an animal shelter in Central City. You can make it there in what, five seconds?"

The Flash grinned, taking a bite out of a strawberry tart.

"Try nanoseconds, beautiful." He said, and I frowned.

"Try eating with your mouth closed." I said, pouring his coffee and putting five pumps of sugar and creamer in it. "Take this and go do your job."

"You're not even going to ask what I was doing in the first place?" He pouted.

"It was on the news, now go save more people." I said, shooing him away from the counter. He frowned, pulling money from his suit before I stopped him. "I told you, on the house. Always. Now go, no more chit chat until all evil is gone."

"Now that's impossible." He frowned.

"Not for the fastest man alive." I said, crossing my arms as he grinned.

"And his coffee girl." He laughed as I rolled my eyes. He grabbed the coffee and sped out of the shop, through the people thronged around the glass looking in, and to wherever he came from.

He didn't even give me the chance to yell at him.

"Was that _the_ Flash?" The business woman, Stephanie, asked from her spot as she looked at me dumbfounded.

"Yes ma'am, he likes to pop in occasionally for his usual." I nodded, returning to cleaning my cup.

* * *

The sound of a thundering crash woke me from my sleep. Sitting up drowsily in bed, I yawned before moving to my window and opening it to find… a literal giant snake. Breathing fire. In the city.

 _A literal giant-ass fire breathing snake was terrorizing the city._

I blinked twice and rubbed my eyes before staring at it for a few more seconds to make sure it was real before I rushed to my closet to throw on a pair of shorts and shoes. With that done, I ran out of my apartment and down the stairs, ignoring the calls for me to stop and get inside. No, I had to go check on my baby.

I ran into the street, making a bee-line for the shop when I spotted the snake looming a block over, above the skyline. Noticing a green flash, I recognized the two heroes who shared a mantle, the Green Lanterns, battling the serpent. After they left my line of sight, I saw a figure punch the giant snake in the nose, literally. If I had my guess, I'd say Superman.

Ignoring the amazing visuals, I resumed running towards my shop that was regrettably close to the action. The heat of the snake's breath started to hit me when I was three blocks away from the shop, although I was surprised to see that nothing had been destroyed so far.

Like, literally nothing had been destroyed or set on fire.

I was cut off when a figure came crashing down from the sky and landed right in front of me, making a small dent in the concrete on impact. Freezing, I watched as a redhead with wings popped up from the ground with a groan before her teeth bared in anger and she shot up towards the sky, mace in hand.

I allowed myself a small moment to think ' _how awesome was that?'_ before I shook myself out of my stupor and ran towards my shop. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the snake groan and fall with a resonating, defeated hiss and a large crash. At first I felt glee at the defeat of the creature, then I noticed where he landed.

Two blocks away.

My shop was two blocks away.

Please, oh please, not my shop.

I ran towards my baby, dreading the scene to come. As I got to the last block, I slowed to a walk to catch my breath before praying that nothing happened, and if it did, insurance would hopefully cover it. As I neared, a few voices became audible and I could hear their loud conversation.

"-on't understand! When she's sees this, she'll have my head!" A familiar voice said loudly in a panic.

"She's just a coffee girl, Flash." A gruff voice answered, obviously male.

"No, I'm serious." The Flash answered back quickly. "She's scary when she wants to be, and when she gets here, I'm dead. I'm going to die!"

I rounded the corner from an alley and froze when I saw the carnage.

The snake's head had fallen right on top of my shop. I looked around, and I couldn't believe my horrible luck. My shop, my little baby, was the only thing that wad gotten damaged in the entire battle. And it was the snake dying that crushed it. It laid on my shop, the heroes involved standing around it's corpse as if trying to figure out what to do with it and also calm down the Flash at the same time.

"Flash!" I yelled, anger and frustration boiling over. At my sudden noise, all the heroes turned to me except the Flash who jumped at the sound of my yell before inching behind back a few paces. I glowered at him before walking forwards, only to be stopped by someone coming up through the concrete before me.

The guy literally phased through the floor. I didn't bother to register the amazing feat of him coming up _through the fucking concrete_ , instead letting my anger flare at the fact that he had stopped me from getting at the speedster.

"I must ask you to leave this area." The man said once he materialized. He was at least a foot taller than me, buffer than me, and most importantly greener than me. But I was angry, so all that didn't register along with his amazing powers.

"Oh, bite me!" I said, brushing past him as his eyes widened, as if he didn't expect my answer. I stalked toward the group of heroes, some bemused and others glowering at my appearance, and the one I wanted to speak with trying to hide himself.

Stopping a few feet from the group since I was angry, not suicidal, I crossed my arms before speaking.

"Flash, do you want to explain to me why out of the millions of buildings in Keystone, my shop is the one that's destroyed?" I asked, watching as the hero flinched when I said his name in a severely unimpressed tone. He straightened his back and shot me a sheepish smile.

"Oh hey Erin, I—uh—didn't see you there." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Literally the only fucking building, Flash!" I yelled. "You had two jobs, _two!"_

"Erin I'm sorry, I really tried to make sure that the shop—," Flash tried to explain to me, but I quieted him with a harsh glare

"Do you know how much money it cost to get that building? How much time and effort I put in to make it health code standard?" I asked, voice deceptively calm.

"Ma'am, please calm down." A soothing voice said. My head snapped toward the voice, narrowing at the man decked in red and blue. "I'm sure that your insurance provider will-,"

"Insurance? Don't talk to me about Insurance, everyone here is literally cock-blocked by insurance!" I cried. "This entire side of the city only gets theft coverage because _nothing else happens._ Do you really think anyone's insurance is going to cover 'damage by giant fire breathing serpent', really!? Do you think there's a bundle for that?! We're not even going to talk about the thousands of dollars in machines and coffee beans I have in that building!"

"Erin, I'm really sorry." The Flash spoke up, coming towards me and rubbing the back of his neck. I noticed the other heroes watch in bemusement as the flash apologized to a civilian almost a foot or so shorter him. "I'll try to make it up to you."

It was here that he flashed me his signature grin that always made my resolve break, especially when I denied him certain orders because I was out and he wanted me to make them special.

I sighed angrily.

"When I get this place back up and running, every time you get coffee, it will be between nine A.M. and six P.M., you are banned from late night coffee for the foreseeable future, and you _will_ be serviced by interns." I said, frowning.

The flash's jaw dropped as if I'd slapped him.

"But I never come in unless you're there!" he said, pouting. "And you make the best coffee! And I only ever come around after six!"

"Flash, let me point something out to you." I growled, gesturing angrily to the ruble that used to be my shop. He looked at it and frowned. "You broke your promise, and now you're going to suffer the consequences, am I understood?"

"Yeah." The Flash mumbled. I nodded sharply before turning to the other heroes.

"I blame the rest of you too." I said. "Have a good night."

With that, I turned on my heel and walked back to my apartment, determined to get a good night's sleep before I had to go and repair my shop.

* * *

"That girl could rival Batman." Hal Jordan said. "I think I saw my life flash before my eyes."

"How do you think I feel?" Flash groaned, frown apparent. "I knew this was coming, I'm lucky I got off that easily."

"Flash, please tell me she's not the one you get our coffee from." Wonder woman said, and then something struck the heroes at that moment.

From the time that Flash had gotten the first four drinks from the small coffee shop in Keystone City, they had become something of a treat at the tower. Flash said that he'd gotten them from a twenty-four hour coffee bar and he also liked the barista, and the rest of the heroes had to admit she made the best coffee. He only time the heroes hadn't liked it was when the Flash admitted their usual barista wasn't there and he had to get an intern to make the coffee.

 _"_ _Make sure you get the right order next time." Batman said as he stared down at his cup. The entire Justice League had become coffee addicts thanks to Flash, and they were downright spoiled when it came to their drinks._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, they said she was out on a date." Flash said, rubbing the back of his neck._

 _Superman had frowned slightly into his coffee, not liking that the taste was off. In fact, whe wasn't even sure if it was his correct order._ _It didn't even have the little 'S' she would carve into the foam for him. He remembered the first time that their coffee girl had put a shot of cinnamon in his and then drew his symbol haphazardly on the cup, as if she secretly knew that he would enjoy it, and had officially became_ their _coffee girl_ _to him. This intern, whoever it was, had absolutely no idea what they were doing in his opinion._

 _Wonder Woman, who loved the Mocha Frappuccino that their coffee girl made, was unimpressed by the drab cup of iced coffee in her hands. Their coffee girl knew to double blend her drink and add three shots of chocolate, not to mention a dash of something the amazon had yet to put her finger on. It was almost like the girl had ESP when it concerned the League's coffee and their moods, she thought. Now in her hands was a cup of burnt chocolate with ice, not blended at all, and it stared bleakly up at the woman as if it were actively trying to ruin her day. This intern definitely was not their coffee girl._

 _John Stewart, who had immediately liked the coffee the first time Flash brought his cup, dumped his in the trash immediately and moved back to his station, mood effectively soured. He didn't like to think that a thing as simple as his coffee order thrown off was bugging him so much, but damn it, he liked his coffee the way he like his coffee and this intern did not do coffee correctly like their coffee girl did. If he knew where this shop was, he would go down and demand a refund before he remembered that they got their coffee and pastries for free._

 _The Martian's first run in with coffee had been a drink from their coffee bar, and he's taken instantly to the drink. However, when he'd gotten a cup on his own, he immediately disliked it. Wondering why, he asked the Flash who simply answered 'our girl does some sort of magic with coffee' and left it at that. Martian Manhunter relied on the flash to bring his favorite coffee from then on, at eleven P.M. sharp as usual. Now that his drink was distasteful once again, he found himself upset at this intern who had the gall to replace their coffee girl._

 _Hawkgirl had been relatively safe from the draws of the coffee by ordering a tea instead, but she quickly grew attached to it. From then on, she requested exotic mixes of drinks to test out from the little coffee shop that the Flash passed on his way to the tower. Their coffee girl would always send a note back about the mix of drinks and what she'd taken the liberty of changing, always earning a smile from the warrior at her thoughtfulness to her taste buds. Even though the intern thought they were making the coffee right, they were not doing it like their coffee girl did, and that was a problem._

 _Aquaman, on the few times he was at the watchtower, found he was partial to the coffee brought by Flash and how it was somehow made to suit his tastes as an atlantean. He had asked Wonder Woman about it, only earning a shrug and getting a musing about 'some sort of coffee ESP'. Though his drink was simple, he could tell it was delicately made each time with both care and love. He brought a cup home to his wife often enough that she enjoyed the drinks as well, delighted by the talents of their surface-dwelling coffee girl. The one time that the intern made their drinks, both Mera and Aquaman were saddened that they were denied their usual treat. This intern was not as skilled as their surface-dwelling coffee girl._

 _Hal Jordan, who had been a long-time lover of coffee, absolutely adored their coffee girl and everything she made. He often asked Hawkgirl for a taste of her concoctions, who would begrudgingly oblige, letting him in on the little bits of pure heaven that the coffee-girl allowed. His own usual was something of his own little slice of heaven, he liked to think. He had quickly learned that their barista had created specialized drinks for each of them, making fairly educated guesses to keep them happy, or she had the coffee ESP Wonder Woman assured she did. Either way, he made sure to brag to everyone on Oa about the drinks, and when John agreed with him, many believed their coffee girl to be some sort of drink deity that humans worshiped. When the intern got his coffee wrong, Hal took it personally because he would be returning to Oa for a while and wouldn't get his last taste in. When he did return to Oa, many lanterns decided to stay out of his way because they learned he was very attached to his coffee girl._

 _The Batman, although hard to win with only black coffee, had come around after the third time Flash had brought a cup. It had taken the Coffee girl only three tries to find the right brew and send it to him, surprising him with a roast he didn't know, but definitely liked. The flash told him it was one of her own roasts, a special mix of beans, and the Bat made a mental note to tell Alfred about the coffee. Their coffee girl had matched, and almost surpassed his butler in coffee, especially when she started sending pastries with every drink as if she were worried that the heroes weren't eating well. As soon as the flash came in without pastry bags, the Bat knew something was off and he didn't like it. Though he could deal with an intern making the wrong blend once, the denial of one his favorite parts of the day was something he would have to work on to excuse._

 _Somehow, the coffee girl had become a set part of the heroes' day, a vital moment in their schedules. They realized this, and realized that with their jobs being as demanding as they were, the heroes deserved what the coffee girl had to make and did not think much more about it._

 _"_ _Tell her she's not allowed date." Batman said testily to the Flash, turning back to the screen and resolving to throw the cup out the next chance he got._

 _Although his words were a bit drastic, none of the league members thought they were out of the ordinary. In fact, many of them agreed with the Bat and thought that their coffee girl shouldn't be out so late at night anyway; it was practically asking for something bad to happen. And if dating made this atrocity happen, they were against her seeing this new person for the rest of her life._

Now that the heroes realized just who the girl was and what she meant to them, not to mention what her terms meant, their mood soured considerably.

"Batman is going to be unbearable for the next few months." Hawkgirl said.

"We all are." John Stewart frowned. "And then some. I have a feeling Flash won't be making coffee runs any time soon."

Superman looked incredibly put out by the realization that he wouldn't be getting his daily coffee. The cinnamon and sugar and little designs she drew into the foam had been a little joy in his day and now he wasn't going to be getting that for the foreseeable future.

"Do you think any of us could reason with her?" Wonder Woman asked calmly.

"Reason? With Erin?" Flash asked. "Ha! The only way to get her to do anything is to promise her something."

Martian Manhunter cocked his head, thinking over the girl's words in his head, not necessarily understanding the dilemma.

"She only said she would not service Flash, correct?" He asked, and watched as realization dawned an all the hero's faces. "I am sure she would not mind any of us doing the coffee runs."

The small air of relief passed the heroes, feeling that their sentence was incredibly shortened by that little bypass in the girl's terms.

"Batman is still going to be unbearable when he finds out that we crushed the league's coffee shop." Hal sighed.

"It's a good thing Flash is going to tell him then, huh?" Wonder Woman mused.

"Wha-but superman punched the snake into the shop!" The flash protested.

"But you broke a promise apparently." Hawk girl said, watching as the Flash's shoulder dropped.

"She's never going to forgive me, is she?" He asked.

"I am sure that she'll come around." Martian Manhunter said, soothing his friend's nerves.

"Come on, let's get rid of his snake." Superman sighed, leading the team in removing the carcass.

* * *

RAW- 9/22/16

EDIT- 8/5/17


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, I stood in front of my shop with my hands on my hips and an intense frown on my face as I spoke with policemen about what had happened. They seemed less than pleased with my attitude towards the flash and didn't take kindly to my extreme saltiness when concerning the Justice League as a whole.

They ended up leaving with a statement and a few words about respect in my direction.

I dodged all the press and cameras I could with scowls and glares, muttering the staple 'no comment' when asked anything. That didn't stop cameras from zooming in on my face as I assessed the carnage of my shop for the second time the next morning, or journalists form getting my phone number and calling to ask nonstop about what had happened.

Two days after the incident, my phone was still ringing off the hook. It was seven thirty in the morning and I was sitting at a desk in my small apartment, frowning at my computer with vigor as I looked through my insurance policies when my phone started ringing again.

Glaring at it, I picked up.

"Hello, this is Erin Grey." I said, voice as natural as I could possibly get it.

"Hello Erin, this is Clark Kent from the Daily planet." The man said on the other end. "I'd like to ask a couple questions about what happened to your shop, maybe even get an interview?"

"Yeah, no thanks." I said abruptly. "I'm too busy trying to get my insurance to rebuild at least half of the building, then go through the costs of replacing all my machines and inventory, not to mention pay my employees bonuses due to the abrupt loss of employment. So no, I don't think I have time for an interview."

There was a low whistle on the other end of the line. Something about this guy rubbed me the wrong way. He sounded too familiar. Maybe I had seen him on the shop, or maybe he was on TV recently.

"Gosh ma'am, that sounds horrible." He exclaimed. "I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"Yeah, well…" I frowned to myself as my guilty conscience started to take hold. "I'm sorry for being rude about it. I've just gotten too many calls about interviews and too little work done."

"You know, I think something will come up." He said with a knowing tone. The more this guy talked the more suspicious I got. "Don't worry too much about it. Have a good day ma'am."

"You too, Mister Kent." I answered before hanging up and dialing my insurance company.

After I had gone through thirty minutes of being on hold, two hours of tense conversation, and another hour of scheduling meetings, I had figured out that I wouldn't even be seeing a quarter of the money I'd need to set-up shop again.

I put my head in my hands and sighed deeply before standing up and going to my bed. Absolutely nothing was getting done, my financials weren't going to pan out no matter how long I stared at my banking statements and the damage repair costs, and I was far to depressed to even attempt another call to my insurance agency who have informed me that they do not cover damage by giant, fire-breathing serpent. Plopping down, I curled up and closed my eyes, trying to disappear for an hour before I had to face the harsh reality that my little coffee shop most likely wasn't going to make it past this tragedy.

My phone rang again, and I debated picking up. If anything, I didn't want to talk to another newspaper or station or radio show. All they wanted was a story. On the other hand, maybe it was my sister finally calling to ask if I was okay. It was a long shot, but maybe the recent events of me losing all my income would push her to pick up a phone and call me back for once.

Or, it could be a telemarketer.

I popped my hand out of the cocoon of blankets I had wrapped myself in, sliding my phone haphazardly off the bedside table, and brought it to my ear before answering.

"Hello?" I asked with exhaustion in my voice.

"Hello." An older, English accented voice said on the other end of the line. "Would I be speaking with an Erin Grey?"

"That would be me." I sighed. "And whom am I speaking to?"

"This is Alfred Pennyworth, madam." The old man introduced. I blinked a bit in confusion, not recognizing the name at all. "I represent one Bruce Wayne of Wayne Industries. Mister Wayne has been informed of your situation by one of your loyal customers, one Officer Gordon."

"Oh?" I asked in shock. Bruce Wayne's name caught my attention, forcing me to bolt up in my bed. Officer Gordon, though? How did he play into this phone call? "Yes, I know who you're talking about. He comes in every other month because of an ongoing case."

Tall mocha latte, no matter what the weather, extra mocha and whole milk, I remembered. He seemed ruffled and outraged the first time he walked into the shop, but he warmed up during his second visit when he met with an officer from the Keystone Police Department.

"Yes. Mister Wayne would like to help with your situation and would like to meet with you to discuss the details. Do you have time to travel to Gotham in the near future?" He asked, and continued after a pause. "All expenses paid of course."

"I—yes, I but that isn't necessary." I said quickly. "I can pay my way, a meeting with him is already too generous. What time would Mister Wayne have available to see me?"

"Next Thursday afternoon, eleven AM sharp." The man said promptly.

"That…. Yes I can make it there on time. Would you mind giving me an address?" I asked.

At this point, I was proud I was able to keep up a somewhat professional voice and manner. Having this opportunity practically dropped in my lap was… surreal. In fact, I didn't believe it. A part of my mind was thinking that this couldn't be real, some old crime lord in the crime central of the nation was calling me and planning to do something horrible.

And then a bigger part of me was saying it was completely real.

"Right, we will see you at Wayne Enterprises Thursday then." The man said. "Good Day, Miss Grey."

And then he hung up. I pulled the phone from m y face slowly, unsure if what just happened was a dream or not. I got up from my bed and walked to my closet, pulling out a suitcase and then moving towards the computer to book a flight and hotel room.

* * *

I loved Gotham. No really, I did. Crime capital and all. The center of the city was positively beautiful, as well as the buildings and the magnificent architecture that really went into the air of the city, but the culture of the streets was also fascinating. Thugs were some of the best and most loyal customers. One thing I'd come to learn is that you can definitely bribe someone with coffee, and you can win over a thug with coffee, and you can stop a burglary with coffee.

Oh, there have been some nightshifts that could have ended badly without coffee.

Now, as I walked down the street with a happy smile and pep in my step, I didn't much care when a man grabbed hold of my arm only to pull me into an alleyway with a knife pressed to my back. If anything, I was only mildly annoyed that I wouldn't be early to my appointment with Mr. Wayne.

"Alright, give me everything you've got." The mugger said, poking me dangerously with the blade. I sighed heavily, reaching into my coat pocket with languid movement.

"You know, how about some free coffee?" I asked conversationally.

"What?" The thug growled. "Just give me your wallet!"

"You think I'm dumb enough to actually carry money on the streets of Gotham?" I asked, looking back at the thug. He didn't look older that sixteen, and I felt my heart go out to him. "Please, I may be a tourist, but I'm not stupid."

The kid's eyes narrowed and I rolled mine before turning abruptly and walking out of the alley.

"Wait!" he yelled, coming after me.

"No thanks!" I yelled over my shoulder. Honestly, kids these days and their incessant need to rebel. When that hand came down on my arm again, I was whipped back to look at the aggressor in the eyes, brown on blue.

"We weren't through." He said lowly, avoiding looking at the attention he was drawing.

"You mean you weren't through attempting to mug me." I said numbly. "Look, you seem like a nice kid who's on the wrong side of the tracks. Take this and do something with your life."

With that, I pulled a small pouch of coffee grinds from my pocket—a sample size really—only good for a few cups, and went back on my way. About ten minutes later, I was at Wayne Enterprise talking to a thirty-year-old, official looking man that managed the lobby of the large building. He looked me up and down before smiling at me and asking my business.

"My name's Erin Grey, I've got an appointment with Mister Wayne today." I said with a tired, but genuine smile.

"Do you have any identification?" He asked.

I slipped my ID from my back pocket and handed it to the man who checked it and then his computer. He handed it back to me before typing something up and then nodding to me.

"Seventy-third floor. Check in with Rodger before entering, just to make sure Mister Wayne's last appointment hasn't stayed too late." The man said, and I nodded my thanks.

The elevator ride up to the top was insanely long and nerve-wracking. I tapped my red heels to the time of the elevator music, brushed my black dress-pants free of any offending specks of lint or dirt, and looked into the elevator mirror to make sure I didn't get toothpaste on my white blouse. I could never really get my hair done to perfection like some women, so I let it blow free and hoped for the best, not to mention that my makeup collection only consisted of foundation, mascara and eyeliner with a bit of concealer.

My sister would kill me right now if she knew what I was doing. She was the one that was always into make-up techniques and was able to do wonders with five minutes and a contouring palette. Man, I missed her.

When the elevator opened, I stepped into a small reception area. The man, Rodger I supposed, motioned for me to enter the office. And this is where is began.

* * *

"If I knew I wasn't actually meeting with _the_ Bruce Wayne, I would've been a lot more chill!" I yelled into the phone.

I had just landed back in Keystone and was on the phone with Chris, my manager, while I was in the cab going ballistic. Remembering the details of my meeting got me fired up just as much as when it happened.

" _Who did you end up meeting with?"_ He asked, his unique way of speaking that added light to his voice in every word calming me a little.

"The manager for Wayne Foods. They're looking to expand into Keystone and we argued for a good hour before I got what I wanted." I sighed, rubbing my forehead.

" _You negotiated?"_ He giggled. " _I would've loved to see that."_

"Shut up." I grumbled. "Long story short, it'll be two months before we've got the building rebuild, and after that it depends on how quickly we can get our been orders in."

" _Yeah, yeah, but let's go back to you negotiating."_ He said. " _What exactly did you have to negotiate for?"_

I thought back to the meeting, spent in the company of a devilishly handsome, egotistical pimple who couldn't give a damn about what had been already written up in the original papers by Mr. Wayne's lawyers and instead wanted to negotiate the terms—while hitting on me in a disgusting, thinly veiled way. I had never wanted to punch someone so badly in my life.

"Let's just say we spent thirty minutes arguing over the fact that I wasn't moving the shop to the crime capital of the nation." I grumbled, and left it at that. Chris let out a loud laugh.

" _No way, they thought you'd leave keystone?"_ He breathed. " _It just gets better!"_

"Mmhhmm, now get on that African been shipment." I said as the cab pulled to a stop in front of my apartment complex.

" _Sure thing."_ He said, hanging up.

Stepping into the night air from the cab was both refreshing and relaxing. I shouldered my small bag before moving into the lobby and up several flights of stairs. When I made it to my door, my feet stumbled over something sitting right in the way of my entrance. It was a basket of goodies and I felt a certain sense of both satisfaction and annoyance.

Picking it up, I saw it was filled with chocolates, a few small books, and several types of exotic coffee. There was a note attached, and I almost didn't want to read it.

 _You can't stay mad at me forever_

 _-F_

I groaned before moving into my apartment and crashing onto my sofa, luggage and basket dropped carelessly to the floor.

* * *

"Hello, how can I—get out my shop right now Flash!" I said angrily, slamming my cup down on the counter. "I literally just opened back up and you're already breaking the rules!"

My shop was completely rebuilt and back in action, not to mention it was far roomier and much closer to my original idea of the shop than the first one was. When the customer would enter, they'd see seating areas of brown leather chairs and couches with coffee tables and some with regular dining tables. The counter faced the windows, so they'd be able to make a bee-line for me before heading to a spot to sit quietly and read, or they could watch television quietly.

Oh, and we had a _much_ better television. I think it was at least 8k UHD.

My new coffee machines were top of the line, and my new coffee mugs made my heart warm just at the aesthetic of them. The aesthetic of my entire shop set my heart alight since it was both cozy, but also clean and modern looking.

But that wasn't my focus at the moment.

Flash smiled charmingly at me before coming up and leaning casually across the display case like he usually did, and I had to stop myself from throwing my mug at his face.

"C'mon Erin, you can't still be angry with me, can you?" He asked, playing up his act with a look that reminded me of a playful pup. I narrowed my eyes and watched him sigh. "Okay, I guess you can be."

"You let my shop get crushed." I said. "And only my shop. By a snake. And I had to rebuild all of it."

Flash had the decency to look ashamed but that didn't mean he got to break the rules just as they were starting to be enforced.

"Out, Flash!" I said, pointing to the door.

"But everyone's waiting on their order!" he cried.

"Well, they'll have you to thank when they find out that they're not getting their orders." I said, turning to my machines. "Good night, Flash."

I heard a frustrated sigh before the ringing of a bell sounded and my back was hit with a soft gush of air. Just like that, I was alone in my shop again. Resolving to settle my nerves with a cup of chai tea, I was halfway through making a brew when the bell rang to signal a customer.

"I'll be with you in a second." I called politely, the process of making my cup of tea already calming my anger. Once it was done, I took a long sip and sighed happily before returning to the counter only to find another hero.

"You have got to be kidding me." I said with a deadpan expression, walking towards the counter and facing Superman who fixed me with a kind smile. "You are literally kidding me, right?"

"Hello Erin." He said, looking both out of place and completely natural in my shop at once. "I assume you know the order?"

"You _are_ kidding me, right?" I asked, folding my arms. Superman raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not banned, am I?" he asked, and I sighed in frustration.

"Do I have that special order as usual?" I asked, noticing the man's eyes light up as he handed me a small piece of paper. I looked at it, working through how I would make it and how it would taste. "It'll be at least a half hour. Take a seat if you like."

The large meta-human sat at the bar on the wall closest to my counter and I switched on the TV for him like I usually did for Flash. However, I noticed him watching me instead of the TV as I made my way through the usual slew of drinks.

"Do you need the mixed fruit tea?" I asked, turning to him.

"The what?" He asked. I sighed.

"Half water, one quarter lemon, one eighth mango, one eighth pomegranate extract with green tea seeped in. " I said simply. "It's usually made around this time."

"Oh, you mean Aquaman's drink." He said to himself, and I raised an eyebrow. This guy memorized the drinks? "Yes, please."

I nodded, turning back to the machines and watching as they piled up, placing them in the large microwave so they would retain their heat.

"So you own this business?" The meta-human asked. He was one for talk, I learned quickly. Flash liked TV and talk, but this guy apparently liked to focus on one thing at a time. I muted the TV before answering.

"Yeah, I have been for a few years now." I said, shrugging. "Doesn't leave much time for personal things, but I enjoy it."

"No personal life?" he asked conversationally.

"Nope. The last time I went on a date, Flash chewed me out because my intern screwed with the orders and told me I'm not allowed to see anyone." I said, rolling my eyes and placing the drinks in several carriers. "I probably need to leave more detailed notes when I'm gone."

"He's right you know." Superman said. "You are definitely not allowed to date."

I snorted at that as I moved toward the display case.

"I'm twenty-three, so I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to date." I said as I separated the several bags and labeled them by order.

"At least not at Eleven at night." He said with a frown. "It's dangerous."

"Sure, sure." I hummed. "I'll just find the time during my twelve-hour shift to date someone, no biggie."

The superhuman frowned at that and I laughed at his put out expression. The supers apparently didn't like being denied their coffee.

"Here you go, would you like a bag?" I asked as I laid the drinks and pastries on the counter. I had a carrier especially made for this order, but I always liked to patronize Flash by asking for a bag for the pastries.

"Don't they come in a box?" Superman asked with a confused tone. I grinned before pulling a large box that was made for donuts from under the counter.

"You're all set." I said once the pastries were boxed and the drinks set. "It's on the house, have a wonderful night."

"You too, Erin." The meta-human said, and I watched as he walked out of the shop and promptly flew into the air with a pastry box and coffee.

I laughed so hard I cried at the sight of it. Oh, it was almost too perfect.

* * *

"Flash, I swear to fuck, I will figure out how to catch you and then bodily throw you out of this shop!" I yelled when he came in the next night.

"But Erin!" He cried, upset that I still wasn't letting up. I pointed at the door and watched as he sulkily exited. He stood outside the door, looking at me woefully though the glass before zipping off in the direction he usually left int.

With a sigh and a groan, I went for some chamomile tea. I knew it would make me drowsy, but I needed to calm my anger at seeing the red suited idiot for the second night in a row. Halfway through making my tea, I heard the bell ring.

"One second." I said, tying my apron behind my back and making my way to the counter, both surprised and not surprised to see the Martian standing there with a piece of paper in his hand. "Don't tell me they sent you this time."

"I was told to ask if I was banned, but I assume I am not." The Martian said calmly. I sighed before shaking my head.

"No, only Flash is banned at this time." I said, walking towards the counter. "If I were to go that far, I'd put out a sign that said 'no aliens, no meta-humans, no lanterns, and no batman' out front, and that's just racist."

I saw the Martian smile, and I wondered exactly why his greenness and red eye-ness wasn't freaking me out. Maybe because I was drop-dead tired, or I was fairly desensitized towards supers, but it was a major bonus in my court that I wasn't uncomfortable while in the guy's presence.

"So, special order?" I asked, and looked over the paper the Martian handed to me, pleasantly surprised by the fact that there was an entire list of orders. "This is… new?"

"When you asked Superman if you needed an order, he thought that getting everyone's written down would help you." The Martian explained. I looked over it, noticing a few new brews that weren't one of the usual.

"That was nice, tell whoever did the order taking that I said thanks." I said, pinning it to the nearest machine and getting to work. I watched as the Martian looked around the shop, eyes landing on a small set of books and magazines I had laying out for customers to read while they waited. I watched as he sifted through them, not taking an interest in anything I had readily laying out. "Need a different read? I have others in the back."

The Martian looked up at me in question.

"Are you not working?" he asked and I shrugged.

"The machines are filled, and I aim to make the customer happy." I said. "Though my books are more H.P. Lovecraft style."

The Martian looked rather excited when I said the name.

"I have read a few of his works and am interested in the others." He admitted and I felt myself grin.

"Wait right there." I said, disappearing into the back before reappearing quickly and handing him a large book. "The complete works of H.P. Lovecraft."

The Martian took a seat and lost himself in the material while I finished the drinks, both of us reveling in the quiet atmosphere. It was probably the quietest night I had spent with a hero in the shop, although I'd only met three.

"Alright, you're ready to go." I said when I had placed the pastries in the box and the drinks in the carrier. Luckily it fit the extras, although I might have to special order a bigger one if this kept up. "It's on the house, have a wonderful night."

I watched as the Martian looked up slowly from the book and closed it at the same speed, obviously not okay with having to leave the story behind. I smiled at him as he tried to hand me the book in exchange for the pastries. With a swift motion, I grabbed a plastic back and wrapped the pastry box and the book together.

"I'll let you borrow it." I explained as I handed the package over. "I've read the stories a thousand times over. Tell me what you think of them."

"Thank you, Erin." He said in that overly calm voice that he sported, but his eyes were happy. "Good night."

I watched as the Martian walked through the door and flew away, much like superman. And It was just as funny too, making me laugh for a solid minute

* * *

"What is that?" Flash asked as he saw Martian Manhunter come in with more than the usual. Many heroes came by to get their drinks, a few curious about the magical quality they'd heard about and others clamoring to get their usual slice of heaven. However, many were interested to see what their coffee girl had sent with their drinks.

"A book Erin allowed me to borrow." He answered. Flash's jaw dropped.

"That's her H.P. Lovecraft book!" he cried. "She loves that book! She wouldn't even let me near it, but she lets you _borrow_ it?!"

The heroes were extremely amused by the quarrel between the Flash and their coffee girl. It seemed she knew exactly how to get under the Flash's skin without even trying. He definitely didn't like that he didn't get to see his civilian friend, but he also didn't like how she wouldn't trust him with certain things. She'd known him for _how long_?!

"Maybe she didn't think you were responsible enough?" John Stewart joked as he grabbed his drink, sighing into the cup as he took the first taste. "Damn, that girl needs to work in central city."

"I'm responsible!" The flash cried, looking at Hal Jordan. "Right!?"

The other lantern looked at his cup, then at the flash, and walked away to his station so he could enjoy the coffee without the pressure of answering the question.

"Oh, come on!" Flash yelled.

"Where does this girl work?" Green Arrow asked as he took his second sip of his first drink, the drink that would forever ruin him towards other coffee. "I want her in Star City stat."

"She'll be in Gotham before Star city if Batman had any say." Hawkgirl said. "I'm surprised she hasn't been adopted yet."

"He's working on it." Superman half-joked, although he was sure the Bat was working on a way to move their Coffee girl closer to his city

* * *

RAW: IDK

EDIT: 8/6/17


	3. Chapter 3

When Flash came the third night of his banishment, he saw the sign posted outside and nearly screamed.

 _Flash, you know what I'm going to say_ , it read. He looked in at the girl behind the counter as she glared pointedly back at him. He gave her a charming smile, one he knew worked wonders on her before, but it fell short this time as she pointed for him to leave.

With a frustrated sigh, the flash ran behind the shop and asked J'onn to zeta him up to the tower. As he felt his molecules re-aligning themselves, he could feel his frown etch deeper into his expression. This was the third night he'd been turned away, and he expected that Erin would mess up his drink again.

Every time, she made the drink slightly off, not enough to throw away, but just enough to upset his mood.

"She still throwing you out?" The amused voice of John Stewart greeted him at his entrance.

"She made a sign!" Flash cried, throwing his hands in the air.

The Martian smiled at that, thinking back to his conversation with her. It seemed she thought a sign would do the trick if the flash kept appearing in her shop. With thoughts of coffee came the thought of the book he had laying near his bed in the Watchtower. He vowed to find time to read every night in order to get the book back to the young barista sooner, but he also didn't want to rush through the story. Decisions, decisions.

"Who's going to do the run tonight?" Flash sighed in defeat.

"Superman is talking with foreign dignitaries over the monitor as of thirty minutes ago." The Martian supplied. "I am making sure the video feed goes uninterrupted."

"Batman is watching the screens." John said, "Hal is on Oa and I've got to prepare for a mission."

"I'll go." Came the admission from one of their beautiful coworkers. The amazon princess Diana was eager to meet the coffee girl. From what she saw when Clark, J'onn and Wally returned, they seemed far more relaxed than the last time she'd seen them. She wanted to see this girl's calming magic in action.

Flash nodded before quickly zooming all over the tower for the coffee orders. Yesterday, Robin was in charge of grabbing the orders. He wasn't too happy about it, but the league thought that the young protégées could do that much. It was like intern work at the least.

Diana quickly grabbed the note when Flash returned and J'onn wasted no time in zetaing her down behind the Coffee Shop. Diana walked confidently and near excitedly into he shop, surprised at its interior.

The shop exuded an air of comfort, with plush seating and lowered lighting. Light piano music played in the background, and a young, pretty barista was rubbing a coffee cup dry in soothing motions behind the counter.

Diana pushed the door open, making the young Barista open her eyes, and she gave the Amazon a tired smile. Something about the barista put Diana into a relaxed state. Maybe it was the overly nonthreatening air she put out or maybe it was the look of a long shift about her, but the Amazon instantly liked their Coffee girl even more.

"Good evening, what can I get you?" She asked, setting the cup down. "The usual?"

"I have a list for you." Diana said, watching closely as the girl's eyes turned serious. The barista seemed to ponder over the order before she nodded to herself and set to work. The amazon found the motions the girl was making intensely calming for some reason, so she took a seat at the nearby bar just to watch her work. It was like watching an artist create several masterpieces at once with both care and gentleness. "You are good at this."

The coffee girl glanced over her shoulder at Diana with a kind smile before turning her focus back to the drinks.

"I should be, I've been doing this for as long as I can remember." She said as she took a drink with foam and started a design in the bubbles.

"Your parents owned a coffee shop?" Diana asked kindly, eager to know how the girl learned her trade.

"No, they just really liked coffee." She answered. "My dad used to travel a lot so he'd bring mom back exotic beans to try out. We always had a slew of good coffee, and I always loved the smell and the making of the drinks. My mom taught my sister and I the basics and I worked for a shop throughout my time in college to learn some more of the ropes, mainly pastry crafting."

"Your parents must be proud." The amazon complimented. "You seem successful and your service is unchallenged."

"Thanks, I'm glad to hear that." The girl said, although her tone was a little different.

"You are sad." The amazon observed. "Why?"

"It's nothing, really." The coffee girl said, turning to the amazon with a nice smile and pained eyes. "I was just thinking of my sister."

"Has she…" The amazon didn't know how to finish the sentence, but her coffee girl seemed to get the message.

"No, she's healthy and fine." The coffee girl assured. "We had a falling out a few years ago, and we haven't spoken since. I worry about her, you know, but she doesn't answer my calls anymore."

"She is rejecting your sisterhood?" The amazon asked, stunned. That was unspeakable on Themyscira.

"I suppose, though she hasn't disowned me yet." The coffee girl shrugged. "I hate that she's still upset with me, but I don't know what else to do."

"I am sure that in time she will come to reconcile with you." The amazon said, earning a smile from the Coffee girl.

"Yeah, I hope so." She nodded. "You're all set. It's on the house, have a wonderful night."

The amazon blinked, wondering when exactly the girl finished her order. Finding the information unnecessary, she thanked the girl before wising her a good evening as well, walking out of the shop and behind it to get back to the watchtower.

As soon as the amazon materialized with the coffee, the league came by to grab their orders hurriedly and get back to work.

"How is she?" The flash asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I learned much about her." Diana said with a content smile. The coffee girl really was some sort of magic. "Mostly about her family."

"Oh… she told you about that, huh?" Flash asked as he took his own drink, tentatively taking a sip but then smiling down at the cup. Erin didn't mess with his drink, she must have been forgiving him right? "I remember when it happened, Erin wasn't herself for months."

"I can imagine." Diana said. "To not speak with your sister for years…"

"Uh, that's not what I was talking about." Flash said, cocking his head. "Erin's parents died a few years back and her sister didn't make it to the funeral. From what she told me, Erin said some pretty harsh words that she regrets."

The amazon was stunned by this information, a feeling her heart go out to the kind coffee girl, but she understood why Erin wouldn't want to say anything. It was her business after all.

"Everyone, we have a problem." Came the warning voice of superman. Many heroes shared a look before gathering in the bridge, many clutching their cups of coffee. The news that came from the alien wasn't good at all.

* * *

I decided to leave the sign up during my shift. The customers thought it was just some sort of joke, but I was deathly serious. I may have started making his coffee correctly, but that didn't mean I wasn't still pissed at him. He'd have to do something extravagant to get off my shit list.

When the rush stopped and night fell, I waved my last intern to go home. He nodded, wishing me a good night before taking his leave. With that, I grabbed my favorite mug and leaned on the back of the counter, rubbing it clean before starting on the next one.

The action soothed me immensely, making me forget about my tenseness throughout the day. I loved serving coffee, but some customers really needed to learn that the service I provide is not because I'm the dirt beneath their feet and can't strive for more, but because I want to do it and it brings me joy… most of the time.

 _"Wow, you're so gorgeous." The blonde girl said. She looked to be my age and flashed me a lovely smile. "And you work in a coffee shop! I bet it's really nice, huh? Any cuties come in regularly?"_

 _"Oh please, she doesn't want to be working here." The blonde's friend said before I could answer. Her companion was brunette, hair braided back messily and eyes flaring. "Who wants to be stuck in a coffee shop the rest of their lives? It's degrading!"_

 _I frowned, but held my tongue. This girl seemed to be having a rough time, what with the paleness of her skin and the dark bags beneath her eyes. I assumed she was either working herself into an early grave or she was studying her heart out for finals and not giving herself time to rest._

 _I silently put their mugs down at their table before moving behind my counter and starting up another slew of orders. However, I could barely keep my mouth shut when their conversation drifted towards me._

 _"You didn't have to say that in front of her." The blonde said._

 _"It's true and you know it." Her friends hissed. "People like her aren't going anywhere, stuck in a dead-end job and waiting to die. Better to give her a sense of reality so she might realize her mistake sooner rather than later."_

 _I saw the two interns in the shop shoot me a look, gauging my reaction. Neither of them had seen me explode before, but they knew I'd come very close to it once._

 _"Hey boss!" one said loudly to me, gaining not only my attention but also the customers'. "I'm having trouble with the brew and Lily is coming soon. Do you think you could let me off early?"_

 _I blinked before moving over to the machine, finding nothing wrong with it before realizing exactly what my intern just did. I flashed him a grateful smile before answering._

 _"Of course Sam, tell her I said hey and that her shift is early Monday morning." I said, narrowing my eyes seriously. "I can't afford for her to be late a second time."_

 _"Sure thing!" He said before gathering a few mugs and walking around the shop. I saw him stop momentarily at the girls' table when one of them called him. They shared a few words and I watched as the brunette's face paled a bit and the blond smile happily before her came back to my side._

The opening of the shop door broke me from my memories of the day and I looked up with a smile on my face, ready to see who needed their drink. I was a little surprised that it was a hero decked in black and blue before me and not Flash. Usually he tried to get in first, alerting me that I'd have another super visitor later on.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" I asked politely, putting the mug down. He gave me a serious look before striding to the counter.

"Hi, I came in for a friend of mine." He said smoothly, and I instantly frowned.

"You're Nightwing, aren't you?" I said. I wasn't a question. "Flash talks a lot about you, says you're good friends. Tell him his sentence has been extended."

With that, I turned to my machines and started brewing a cup of coffee. I pulled a mug that would suit the hero, a contemporary piece with rounded edges and an inviting handle with an off-white color. It wasn't fancy, he didn't seem like a fancy sort of guy, but more comfortable and calming. The guy seemed like he needed to take a breather and some advil or something with the way his eyes shifted about my shop when he assumed I wasn't looking.

"I don't really think that's fair." The hero sighed. I whipped my head around and glared at him, but it didn't seem to make any difference. Strange, Flash told me I could be fairly scary when I wanted to. "It wasn't his fault that-,"

"It is a sin to talk about that transgression in my shop." I cut him off before pouring a generous amount of milk and creamer into the mug, three shots of sugar and one shot of chocolate. It was warm, something that would hopefully fight away the chill during the night.

"Look, I didn't want to come in here, but between us, he's getting desperate." Nightwing sighed. I snorted before turning with the mug. I was a little pleased to find he'd advanced to the counter instead of staying at the door. Poor guy looked paranoid, but I didn't blame him with his career. Instead of answering, I pressed the mug into his hands and went for the pastry display. "What's this for?"

"It's on the house." I answered. "Eat and drink, you're too skinny anyway."

The hero snorted when I handed him a banana muffin, but my pointed look to the nearby couch made him take his seat, although he fidgeted the entire time. I assumed he didn't like talking like this, or maybe he was nervous. Maybe he was just ready for some action. However, the fidgeting stopped when he took the first sip of coffee.

The hero drew the mug back quickly, looking into its light brown depths before taking another sip, closing his eyes and relishing in the taste. Grinning to myself, I was satisfied that my coffee made him relax. I went for another mug and started cleaning it, calming myself with the gesture again as I watched Nightwing relax his shoulders and sip his drink.

"What did you put in this?" he asked dazedly after a few more sips.

"Sugar, milk, chocolate, a dash of cinnamon, creamer, and my favorite roast." I answered simply. "Try the muffin with it, they complement each other."

The hero did so and closed his eyes the second the flavors mixed. The hero seemed so relaxed, sipping his coffee and eating his muffing that I relaxed myself. A few minutes later, he stood and went for a newspaper before taking his seat again and reading it with his treat. I fought to hold back my snickers at seeing a hero doing something so mundane.

The moment was broken, however, when Flash made his appearance.

The hero stood outside the glass door looking in, mouth open at the scene of his friend languidly sipping coffee and me rubbing down my mug. He walked in, the sound of the door alerting Nightwing to his entrance, and I glowered.

"Out, Flash!" I glowered.

"But _he's_ in here." Flash pointed childishly.

" _He_ did nothing wrong and is enjoying his mug of coffee." I said icily. "And if you continue to disturb my customers, I will be forced to remove you."

The Flash looked imploringly at his friend who had turned back to the newspaper, ignoring the frustrated groan his friend let out at the predicament.

"Traitor." Flash muttered under his breath. Nightwing sighed but folded his newspaper anyway and stood. I sighed as well but went to the counter and grabbed the treat I'd prepared for him anyway.

"Thank you for the coffee, it was divine." The hero said, flashing me a handsome smile. It was this that made me want to blush because his smile was a lot like Flash's and some of the other heroes'. _Perfect and built to disarm._

"Here, to go." I said with a polite smile, fighting to keep my cheeks from flushing. "And another muffin as an apology. You should be able to stay and enjoy, but I understand that hero business is paramount."

Nightwing nodded with that smile still attached to his face, grabbing the muffin and the coffee. Flash frowned behind him, although it wasn't his usual frown. Something was off about him, but I decided to pay no mind to it. Instead, I flashed Nightwing a smile and told him to come back any time.

Flash stormed out, his friend following with an amused smile on his face. They seemed to share a few words out front before Flash zoomed away and Nightwing made his way to wherever he was going.

And that was the first time I met a hero unaffiliated with the Justice league, and to my pleasant surprise, he came back for coffee every now and again.

* * *

A few nights later, found myself polishing a mug in contentment as I looked over my quiet shop. No flash, superman, Martian, or wonder woman had stopped by like they usually did. It was always those three doing the runs and the red-clad idiot trying to break his banishment. Shrugging it off, I assumed they were off saving the world somewhere and patiently waited for any of them to come by.

But that didn't happen. The entire week, I didn't see a single hero although I watched them do their deeds on the news and I began to worry.

 _Did they not like their coffee?_ I thought. _Maybe it was the pastries, or they wanted something new. Did I offend them? Martian Manhunter seemed completely normal when he came in last, and he still hasn't returned my book. Wonder Woman was pleasant with our usual chat, and the debate I had with superman about the Metropolis and Keystone baseball game wasn't out of the ordinary._

Like that I kept fretting, and my interns began to worry about me. It showed in my mannerisms. The mugs were always clean, but I was usually seen polishing one if I wasn't with a customer. The drinks were made quickly and efficiently, up to their usual standard, but I wasn't as enthusiastic as usual. In the end, my favorite intern asked me what was up.

"Alright boss, you're freaking us out." Sam said on day eleven that I hadn't seen my regular nightly customers. "What's eating you?"

"Nothing, Sam." I said with a sigh, rubbing the mug in my hands and trying to soothe myself. "I just haven't seen some of my regulars in a while and I'm beginning to worry."

Sam gave me an affronted look at my words.

"But you never lose customers." He pointed out. "Everyone says you're the best in the business, even the flyers."

The flyers were our customers that came in every so often on a business trip, and we marked the days they did so. They were so happy when they found out we made the effort to remember them and their drinks that they stopped in more than usual, mostly during my hours.

"That's not the point." I sighed, putting my mug down and rubbing my eyes.

"Listen Boss, I think you should go home and get some rest." Sam said worriedly. "Chelsea and I can handle the shop for a few hours, and I'm sure your regulars won't mind when we say you're exhausted."

I frowned at him, not liking that I wouldn't be taking the night shift, and he notice with a sigh.

"Will you at least take a nap in the back?" He asked finally. At that I felt my shoulders slump as I nodded, putting the mug down. The staff room in the back was stocked with a full kitchen, a nice couch and coffee table, a small TV and a bathroom. Sam led me to the room and made me lie down, putting a mug of coffee down beside me and turning out the lights.

And just like that, I drifted fitfully to sleep. I didn't dream, not really. I saw flashes here and there of pastries, some of the heroes, my sister, and a few of my parents before I felt someone shaking my shoulder. Popping open my eyes, I found Chelsea standing over me with an apologetic expression.

"Sorry boss, I know you need the rest but the night shift is about to start." She said softly. I nodded and thanked her, standing groggily. I honestly think that nap did more harm than good. I felt completely out of it.

In a daze, I watched Chelsea leave the shop and me alone, with no customers much like the past few nights. No one other than the heroes came in at that time and since their disappearance from my shop seemed fully in effect, I fought the need to go back into the staff room and collapse onto the couch again.

The soft opening and closing of the door drew my eyes half open, and I was fighting to stay awake when I saw two men enter my shop. One was large and burly and the other a bit smaller, and leaner than he was.

"Hello, what can I get for you?" I asked, although my voice sounded exhausted.

"We're not here for coffee." One said, coming up to the counter. I cocked my head, missing the predatory look in their eyes.

"Pastry then?" I asked, moving to the display case, but a hand on my wrist stopped me. I lazily glanced at the man whose grasp stopped me from doing my job. "Yes?"

The guy raised an eyebrow before sharing a look with the burly one who shrugged.

"Are you Erin Selene Grey?" The burly one asked and I stifled a yawn.

"Erin is on my nametag, so yes." I answered, not suspicious in the slightest. "Do you need anything from me?"

"No, but you'll be coming with us." The lean one answered and I blinked owlishly although my eyelids felt like lead.

"But I have a shift to pull." I said tiredly. "I can't leave my shop unattended."

Both the men seemed taken back by my answered obviously not expecting that. I shrugged and moved towards the machine only to be pulled back to the counter forcefully. It was at this point that I felt pain register into my mind, the grip on my wrist starting to throb as the man twisted it.

"Listen, I've got a good paycheck coming my way if I deliver you to my employer." The lean one said menacingly. "So I'm going to suggest you come along quickly and quietly before I decide I want to have fun before I make the delivery."

I frowned, not understanding the double meaning in his words. I buff guy leered at me and I stared blankly back at him, not okay with the disturbance they were making in my shop.

"Listen sir, I told you I can't leave my shop unattended." I sighed. Just after the words left my lips, a strangled sound of pain followed as the guy pulled me by the arm. At this point, he had me almost over the counter, my hips hitting the edge and my chest brushing the top of it, his face pulled in close.

"Well, look here." He said, grinning in my face. "Such pretty eyes, a nice face, perfect mouth. I'm tempted to keep you."

"Put me down, please." I said, the gravity of the situation not registering in my sleep deprived mind. At my words, my wrist was twisted a bit more and I yelped.

"Now listen here, you're going to-," And then the guy was gone. He was out of my face, my hand wrist was free. I stumbled a little more into the counter, feeling the edge bite into my hips as I drowsily righted myself. Looking around, no one was in my shop as if nothing happened, but the blooming pain in my wrist said something different.

A split second later, a dash of red zoomed into my vision and I recognized it immediately. When he was finally stopped, he was leaning over the pastry display like usual, charming smile and cocky attitude well in place.

"Flash, what are-," I tried to say, but was cut off by the hero as if he didn't want me to question anything.

"Hey Erin, how are you?" Flash asked with a charming smile, although he seemed distracted, glancing at the door.

"Flash, I swear, if you don't tell me what's going on, I'll—" I tried again, only to be cut off.

"Did you do something different with your hair?" Flash asked suddenly, tugging on a strand that was falling out of my mussed bun. "You look different."

"It's called sleep deprivation, Dip-brain." I said, smacking his hand away. It seemed my attitude only made his smile wider, as the more my glare grew, his smile did as well. "Where in the hell have you been."

"What a mouth." Flash said, leaning his head on his hand. "You know, pretty ladies shouldn't curse like that."

"Flash, I'm serious." I said, and I could feel the worry enter my tone of voice. "You guys just disappear from my shop, no warning, and I'm thinking it's my fault. Did I annoy someone, or is it something I said? Was I too intrusive? I know you guys like your privacy."

Flash's eyes widened as he shot up, shaking his hands for me to stop.

"No, no it's nothing like that." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "You're the least intrusive person I know."

"Then… everything's okay?" I asked, and Flash looked at me with a sad look, almost like he was ashamed of himself.

"Erin, I really don't want you to worry." He said. "It'll be like that time I had to go off planet for a month and then Chris told me you didn't sleep at all and only drank coffee to keep you revved up."

"What do you _think_ I've been doing for the past few weeks?" I hissed. "I've been worried sick about you, and the league too."

A smile broke out over his face and he leaned in, cheekily looking at me like a kid in a candy store.

"You were worried about me?" He asked with a smug tone in his voice.

"Not the time, Flash." I grumbled.

"This is definitely the time." He chuckled.

"No it is not, now why have you guys been avoiding my shop?" I growled.

"We'll I'm banned, so—"

"Stop avoiding the question!"

Flash's smile dropped again, only to be replaced with the serious look I'd seen only a handful of times. Mostly it was on TV when a reporter got fairly close to the action and happened to get a look at him when he stopped for a few seconds before speeding off again. Other times it was when he was in a foul mood or when something happened in his personal life.

"You're being targeted." He stated bluntly.

"What?"

Flash sighed, rubbing his face as if he were exhausted all of a sudden, shoulders slumping as he massaged his skin before his hands trailed down his neck. The motion worried me enough to turn to my machines as he began talking again.

"We got tipped off that an enemy of the league had gotten a list of our civilian suppliers that aren't affiliated directly with the organization, or HQ for that matter." He said, and I could feel the frown in his voice as I continued to work through the machine. "They've got pictures, video feeds, everything. So far, they've been attacking some of the bigger companies like Wayne Enterprises, but you're on their list as well."

"Mmhhmm." I said, an intelligent answer so he'd know I was still listening. We often did this when he wanted to vent or talk about something serious, me giving these answers as he continued on, content with knowing I was listening.

"We've kept an eye on your shop and you, though I don't think you've noticed much." He said. "Mostly camera work and customers reporting in on seeing you here. Other times when we thought they'd strike, we'd have a league member watching your location."

At that point in the explanation, I turned around with a mug before pressing it into Flash's hands. He stopped his explanation to give me a raised eyebrow.

"You seemed tense." I explained before grabbing a slice of raspberry pound cake and putting it on a napkin for him. "Do you want to sit down?"

"How is it at least half of HQ is freaking out that you're being targeted, but when you find out you brush it off and serve coffee?" He sighed before taking a sip.

"Please, I highly doubt a whole bunch of supers are shaking in their boots up there because I'm in a bit of a tight spot." I rolled my eyes, but flash's hand on my wrist stopped me from brushing it off too soon.

"You don't understand." He insisted. "You're in trouble _because_ of us. If I'd never stopped here, if we hadn't continued ordering, if we'd been more careful bout interacting with you, you'd be that much safer."

I blinked at him before a serious scowl came on my face.

"Flash, that is the biggest load of horseshit I've ever heard." I scoffed. "You think I give a solitary fuck if I'm in trouble? No, no I don't because I have the fastest man alive watching over my city and a hoard of supers watching over my planet. I assume that everything is going to be fine."

"Erin, what are you thinking?!" He yelled, slamming the mug down on the counter. "You could get hurt, or you could die! Do you think that's a good position to be in?!"

"I'm fine because I trust you, idiot!" I yelled back, but then I quieted my voice. "I understand that I'm in trouble, and that's okay because you wouldn't let anything happen to me. But, you're tense because you've been missing out one a simple part of your day for a long time and that's not good in the long run for the league. So, sit down and take your coffee like a big boy."

Flash let out a noise of frustration, opening his mouth for a second before closing it again. Then he tried once more to argue with me.

"I don't want you in trouble at all." He said angrily, and I could see his hands fisted at his sides. "You may trust us, but that doesn't me we can't make a mistake. You could still get hurt."

"Well then, take this as an invitation to fuck up." I said as I took a pen and paper in my hands. "Now, tell me who's at HQ so I can get the orders down."

Flash looked like he was seriously debating answering me before he sighed angrily and gave me the names. A week or so ago, Wonder Woman gave me the rundown of whose order was whose and I felt incredibly grateful. Once I knew who I was making it for, I would study the person's personality and then adjust the flavors accordingly. It was a little hobby I had, seeing if the person matched their drinks. So far, I was doing pretty well.

As soon as he was done, I pressed the TV remote into his hands and turned to the machines, finally starting back up on my dear hobby.

* * *

 **Surprise update because I couldn't sleep and I don't know if I'd be able to post this on time this Thursday because of school. If I do, it'll be like a regular update. If I don't, please expect it either sunday or monday. Just take this as a forewarning.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **10/02/16**


	4. Chapter 4

Three weeks after the league finally felt comfortable enough and less guilty about coming to my shop, I got phone-call around seven in the evening. I was walking about, stretching my limbs in my new clothes I'd somehow managed to pick up on my way to work one morning by window-shopping, when my ringtone went off.

 _I found you, miss new booty…_

I picked up my phone to check the number, a little confused as to why this person was calling me again. I couldn't fathom why they'd need me again so soon.

 _Get it together to bring it back to me…_

"Erin Grey." I answered.

" _Hello Miss Grey, this is Alfred Pennyworth_." The older man said with his soothing accent. "I hope this is an appropriate time?"

"No, right now is fine." I said. "Can I help you with anything?"

" _Why yes_." Mr. Pennyworth said. " _You see, Mr. Wayne is looking into new ventures for Wayne Foods. From watching your progress, it seems your revenue has shot up in the past months, despite the wreckage. Wayne Enterprises would like to ask you to have a conference with you about future business endeavors so that we might be able thrive together_."

I was silent for a beat.

"So long as I don't speak with Lawrence Tell again, I think we might be able to work something out." I said.

" _Did you not find your meeting with Mr. Tell satisfactory_?" The older man asked, his tone almost knowing.

"Not after he tried to hit on me, threaten my shop, and riddle my recipes out of me all in one sitting, no." I frowned. "That and I was under the assumption that I would be speaking with Mr. Wayne, not an egotistical, misogynistic, overpaid, glorified secretary."

" _Ah, yes well_ ," Mr. Pennyworth coughed. " _Master Bruce had an emergency to attend to that came rather abruptly_."

"Master Bruce _?"_ I asked, getting a tad confused.

" _Ah yes, you see, I am the head butler of the Wayne household. Mater Bruce entrusts some of his more delicate businesses to me to handle when it comes to business endeavors_." Mr. Pennyworth said.

"Ah, no wonder you sound so posh." I said.

" _Of course, miss_." He agreed, although I knew he could hear the joke in my voice. " _Now, would you be able to stay for an extended period of time to discuss with the Wayne Foods board?_ "

"Sorry Mr. Pennyworth, but I can't leave anytime soon." I sighed. "My manager is about to go off on a vacation, and I can't leave my interns for however long. That, and I have some important customers that need to be taken care of personally."

" _I see. I do hope we'll be able to work out another time then_." He said, although he sounded disappointed. " _Have a good night, Miss Grey_."

"You too, Mr. Pennyworth." I said back, hanging up the phone.

What a weird proposition, I thought as I went into my bathroom so I could check the mirror one more time before I left tonight. Chris called me and asked if we would be able to do dinner like old times. We hardly saw each other than at work, and a new restaurant had opened up downtown that we were both eager to try.

A knock on my door pulled me from the mirror, and I walked carefully to it before checking who was behind it and pulling the door open.

"Chris!" I cried happily, hugging him. He was taller than me, his chin coming just above my head, and he was toned and lean. His white hair was combed back, half up in a bun and the rest falling just short of his shoulders. His beard was trimmed down to almost stubble, and his eyes danced as he wrapped his arms around me. What I always admired about Chris's looks was that his natural white hair was so beautiful against his slightly tanned skin, making him devilish when paired with his confident smirk and brown eyes that could see right through you.

"Good to see you too, Erin." He laughed. "And might I say you're looking sexy as always?"

I rolled my eyes at him. The restaurant's dress code was formal, so I had gotten a nice little red dress that hugged my curves and showed off the barest amount of cleavage, but also had a modest hem that rested just above my knees. Because I was so short, I had on a pair of black stilettos that would hopefully ad a few inches. In my hand was a black clutch that didn't hold anything except the tube of red lipstick and black eyeliner I was donning that night while my phone would rest snugly in my bra without an outline, so there was no reason not to put it in the clutch and risk losing it if I ended up getting mugged.

Chris was dressed in black dress-pants, a black vest with a dainty chain looped in the pocket that showed off his lean body, nice dress shoes that I was sure he'd picked out without a second glance, a striped tie, and a light grey dress-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows that highlighted his nice arm muscles. His black coat jacket was swung over his shoulder, the handkerchief a light grey, and the bulge of his wallet only visible in the lining of the inside.

"And you look dashing." I said, grinning when he pouted at the less enthusiastic comment.

"C'mon Erin, you'd totally tap this." He said as he ran a hand down his chest mock seductively with an eyebrow raised. I cracked up, shaking my head and feeling the loose waves that took me an hour and a half to perfect bounce at the action.

"As if your boyfriend would let me." I giggled, but stopped when I saw the look on his face. "Oh no, you guys aren't…"

"We're through. I don't want to talk about it." He sighed, rubbing his stubble before checking his watch. "And if we don't leave now, we won't make it in time for our reservation."

I nodded, reaching for my long black coat and pulled it on before buttoning up the double buttons. Chris reached held out his arm for me to take, and I gladly took it before pulling the door closed behind us and locking it.

Arm in arm, we strolled downtown towards the restaurant. It was a little unspoken rule that we would walk to our date night destination, talking all the while and messing about on our way. He would lift me onto ledges and let me walk along them, his hand in mine as we both yelled obscenely loud at each other, giggling at our own stupidity. At this point, I was walking along the edge of a long reflecting pool, letting him steady me as we talked about the shop.

"So did your favorite regulars come back?" he asked. "I assumed so when you actually started sleeping again."

"Yeah, they did." I answered with a sincere smile. "Though there is a little trouble with their personal lives, I convinced them that skipping out on their dose of coffee wasn't the best idea."

"Good for you, sugar." He smirked before grabbing me by the hips and helping me down. I latched onto his arm again as we crossed the street to the restaurant. It was on the twenty-fifth floor of the Locke Hotel, a four star establishment with five-star service. Walking into the lobby, we were greeted kindly before directed to the elevator where, when by ourselves, we cracked up at the seriousness of how everyone was acting. It was just _too_ upscale.

We were once again arm and arm when the door opened, and we strolled to the host station. Behind it was a man with brown hair and green eyes dressed immaculately in a black suit and purple tie, charming smile plastered on his face.

"Welcome to Ivory." The man said politely as he looked at us. "May I take your coats?"

Chris's attention was fully on the host as he helped me out of my coat in a gentlemanly fashion, brown eyes smoldering against the guy's skin. Just recently broken up and already out on the prowl… or just looking for a rebound? I didn't know, but the host seemed to be getting a little annoyed with his attention. Taking our coats, he folded them neatly before setting them on a nearby rack with a little note.

"Reservation?" He asked, and I raised a brow. Did he just assume we had reservations before taking our coats? He must've been new at this.

"It should be under Lowland." Chris said. The man looked at a black book at his station before nodding with a polite smile.

"Right this way." He said, leading us into the restaurant. The lighting was low, just dark enough to need the soft glow of candles on the tables that were draped in white tablecloths. The layout of the silverware and plates were immaculate on every table, and by the looks of the place, it was going to be a quiet evening. Only a few couples were about, leaning in closely to each other as they enjoyed their meals.

The host brought us to a table right next to the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city line. Chris pulled out my chair for me before taking his own and opening his menu, but he kept his eyes firmly on the back of the retreating host, his gaze falling lower for a few seconds as his smirk grew near lecherous.

"His ass isn't what you'll stay with him for." I said with a smile.

"But it's sure the reason I'll try him out." He retorted, looking at me with a boyish smile of his own. "Now, how are you and Flash doing?"

* * *

Flash was frantic.

Somehow, the league had managed to give a window of opportunity to their little problem by leaving a few hours of Erin's movements unsupervised. Flash was all over the computers in the monitoring womb, trying to pick up a trace of her anywhere in Keystone. His mood kept spiraling into panic as he thought about what could have happened in the three hours they didn't have eyes on her.

"We need someone down there." Superman said. "We've lost one of our suppliers' whereabouts."

"She'd be in her shop, why isn't she there?" Flash ground out in frustration as he kept flipping through video footage. Martian Manhunter was at his side, looking through footage for Erin's location just as quickly as Flash was.

"Is there any way you can get ahold of her?" Wonder Woman asked, worried frown plastered on her face.

They'd gotten an anonymous tip that their little problem would strike one of those under their watch that night, and while all the companies they dealt with and civilians they'd come into contact with recently were under supervision, one was currently missing from their line of sight. This was _not_ good.

"Not quick enough." Flash said, feeling useless. Being quick was his ability, his selling point, what made him a hero, but he couldn't be slow enough in this situation. "I don't have her phone number, she doesn't just hand it out like candy."

Superman mad a slight noise before turning to the Batman that had been silently thinking over the situation since he found out about the lapse in surveillance. Alfred said he'd talked to her at the start of their blind hours, so they can assume she was fine up until that point. According to his butler, she seemed only mildly annoyed with his proposition, not at all under any stress or in danger. Where she could have gone after that was a mystery.

"Do you have a disposable phone?" Superman asked suddenly. The bat raised an eyebrow before pulling a device from his belt. All the heroes in the womb turned to him in question, watching as he quickly dialed a number and then handed the phone to flash.

Flash put it to his ear, listening to the ring until a voice floated over the line like a breath of fresh air.

" _Hello?"_ Erin asked, confused at the number. Flash's heart leapt into his throat at hearing her sound confused but intact.

"Where are you?" He asked seriously.

" _Flash? How did you get my number?"_ She asked, and he could hear a voice in be background saying something like ' _oooh, loverboy? Tell him I say Hi.'_ that was quickly followed up with " _Shut up, Chris."_

"Erin, just tell me where you are?" Flash ground out.

" _On a date."_ She answered.

"You're not allowed to date!" Flash yelled, his anger at having lost sight of her exploding forth. "Where are you!?"

" _Flash… calm down."_ She said, something foreign in her tone. " _I'm at that new restaurant in Keystone. You know, the one in Locke Hotel."_

"Flash, we've got an update." Martian Manhunter said seriously, pulling him from his phone call momentarily. "The attacks are going to be synchronized in three locations, but we don't know where exactly yet."

There was a hiss from some of the heroes in the womb as the Martian went back to the monitors to issue orders to those that were already in the field. The watchtower was sparse of heroes for the time being due to how large-scale this operation was, and they were just about to deploy the last of them to their other targets.

"Erin, you have to go outside right now." Flash said. "I'm coming to pick you up."

" _I'm in the middle of dessert!"_ She cried.

"And you're also in danger!" Flash hissed. "Now pack it up, say bye to pretty boy, and get downstairs."

At that, Flash hung up and tossed the phone to Batman before moving to the zeta beams. Martian Manhunter wasted no time in zetaing the hero down behind the coffee shop. It only took a few minutes, and he was off towards the hotel, speeding faster as he thought of what could happen in the nanoseconds she wasn't under his watch. As he rounded up on the front of the hotel, he saw her and stopped at her side.

"Flash, what in the hell are you doing!" She yelled.

 _"Flash, have you located Erin?"_ Came Martian Manhunter's voice over the coms.

"Earth to red-clad idiot!" She said, snapping her fingers in his face. "If you're going to zone out on me, I'm going back to dinner."

"I've got eyes on her." He said, gently grabbing Erin's incessant hand to remove it from his vision.

"Who in the hell are you talking to?!" Erin cried, pulling her hand away from the hero quickly, almost as if she'd been burned.

" _Sending zeta-beams."_ Martian Manhunter said into Flash's ear.

And the next thing Flash knew, they were located just outside a warehouse, the daily planet only a thought on the city line that hinted at where the safe house was. Erin's words had stopped, instead she looked pale and dizzy. She tried to take a step to steady herself, only to wobbly dangerously in her stilettos. Flash's face broke into a sheepish frown as he steadied her by the waist.

"Sorry Erin, the first trip doesn't go well for anyone." He said.

"I- _pant-_ am going to- _pantpant-_ slaughter you." She wheezed, the exertion of just staying upright completely exhausting. It was obvious she wasn't going to be able to walk, especially not in those heels, and Flash weighed his options before picking her up to carry her the rest of the way to the safe house.

Her lack of response to the situation both worried and relieved Flash. She wasn't throwing death threats, but then again she was too tired and sick too. Looking down at her, she seemed to pout incessantly up at him. The look threw him back to the days when she'd just opened up shop and he'd taken full advantage of her time by teasing her. Then again, that was before she was able to give back as good as she got.

After a minute or so, Flash walked into the Safe house, Erin somewhat recovered yet still in his arms, to find many of the league's suppliers- managers from Wayne Enterprises, Queen Industries, some Local business owners, and Erin.

"Everything alright, Flash?" A deep voice asked in all seriousness.

John Stewart had only seen their coffee girl once, but now he believed he'd seen an apparition the first time. In the place of the angry, threatening, sleep-deprived young woman on the streets of Keystone, yelling at Flash was a beautiful, sickly, well-rested vision being carried in that same hero's arms. Did they even know they were matching colors? She looked like she dressed just to match his reds, playing the part of damsel that looked more than friendly very well if he didn't pay attention to the very annoyed look on her feminine face.

"It was her first time zetaing." Flash explained, and the lantern witnessed a feminine pout come from the young woman, like she was annoyed at the most unlike the men who were fearful of their lives.

"If _someone_ had warned me—" she started.

"You'd have argued with me." Flash said before walking over to a large box and helping Erin sit comfortably on it.

"Just tell me why I'm here." The girl pouted.

"The man targeting our suppliers has chosen tonight to strike." Green Lantern said, coming to their sides. "We lost track of you, and then it was necessary for relocation."

"And you couldn't _tell_ me?" The girl ground out to the red-clad hero who grinned sheepishly.

"Nope. Besides, you're grounded." Flash said, hoping to change the subject. He didn't want to give Erin any more info than he should, knowing that would put her in even more danger.

" _Excuse me?"_ She asked, raising both her eyebrows.

"That's right, you're not allowed to date." Flash grinned, practically giddy with having gotten the girl out of harm's way.

"You can't just ground me!" She cried, waving her hands. "I'm a grown ass adult! I own a business! I pay taxes! I vote!"

"Nuh-uh, grounded." He grinned. "What will Superman say when he finds out?"

"Oh my god." She groaned, rubbing her face before turning her eyes to the Green Lantern. "Please say something!"

"Well," John said, rubbing his beard, "he's not wrong."

The girl groaned even louder this time before reclining on the boxes behind her in frustration. She rubbed her eyes before taking a shaky breath and exhaling it for good measure to try and lower her heart rate before she glared at flash with all the pent up frustrations she'd been getting due to the heroes lately.

"If my shop has even one bit of damage done to it—if a poster is even slightly peeled from my store room, you will be banned for three months." She growled.

"Yes ma'am." Flash saluted. "I've got to go now. Martian Manhunter has my next assignment."

And like that, he patted the girl's head before he zipped out of the safe house and into the streets to make sure he didn't lose the coffee privileges he may or may not have gotten back recently. He's have to ask her when he took her home later. A goofy grin made its way to the Flash's face when he thought of the spitfire barista.

She looked _good_ in his color.

* * *

I didn't like staying in the safe house. Green Lantern, who was mildly standoffish if you only looked at the surface, put on that normal heroic front that many of the league did when on television and didn't really talk much to his charges. It didn't seem very weird to me, I understood how heroes liked their space, but others were getting a bit offended and restless at his attitude and the lack of updates they were getting about the situation.

I, instead of getting rowdy and joining in the the growing uncertainty of the other business owners, looked about for a good place to either take a nap or worry quietly when the most unpleasant sight decided to grace my eyes.

"Well, I didn't know the Flash was your acquaintance." A sneer sounded to my left.

"Does god hate me? Did I piss him off?" I asked conversationally before rolling my eyes to look at Lawrence Tell's painfully handsome, egotistical face.

"Very funny, Miss Grey." He said, moving his body a bit to where it was leaning over my form in a way that was meant to be intimidating. "I believe we hadn't finished our last discussion."

"Is this really the time?" I glared.

"There's always time to talk business." He smiled charmingly in a way that made my stomach twist. "But then, if you prefer a more traditional setting, why don't we talk about it over dinner."

"No thank you." I said bluntly.

"Pity," he continued, "to miss the chance of having such a lovely woman like you on my arm. Wouldn't you reconsider? It is only for negotiation's sake, even though I would like to continue our _negotiations_ all evening if I were to spend it with you."

"You did _not_ just proposition me for sex." I growled as the man's grin widened.

"Your uncanny ability to put my words in such layman's terms is quite attractive." He said, laying a hand on my shoulder. "And if it did come to that, know I wouldn't mind that outcome."

At this point, I was practically fuming at the man's audacity. How _dare_ he proposition me like some five dollar whore and expect me to fall at his feet! I stood shakily before fisting his collar and forcing his face close to mine, my body on fire with the anger I harbored.

"You sexist egomaniac!" I growled into his face, though the man's grin widened considerably so. "If you think for even a second that I would consider getting into bed with you, you're tripping acid!"

"If you wanted to get that close, you only had to ask, Miss Grey." He said, completely ignoring my words as he pulled his arms around my form to try and get an even bigger rise out of me.

"Let go!" I yelled.

"So feisty." Lawrence Tell smirked.

"Is there a problem?"

Both of our heads snapped to look at the Green Lantern, his arms crossed and face set in a tight glower aimed at Lawrence. It was here that I took advantage of his distracted gaze and stamped on stilettoed foot down onto his. With a grunt he let go and I stepped out of his immediate reach.

"Nothing that either of us can't handle, Mister Lantern." I said politely, forcing my work smile over my face. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to remove myself to the other side of the warehouse before I'm told I can go home."

With that, I shot one more glare at Lawrence before moving myself to another set of boxes, planning to wait out the inevitable shit storm going on out there. I did however manage to catch some of the conversation going on behind my retreating back.

"Are you looking to tick off the league?" Green Lantern asked. "Because picking on that woman is the sure fire way to do it, starting with the Flash."

"What can I say?" Lawrence had the gall to grin at the hero in mocking humor. "A woman like that should be on the arm of one _powerful_ man. Smart, feisty, down right beautiful. It's a wonder a Gotham elite didn't snatch her right up when she visited Wayne Enterprises."

I didn't dare listen to the rest of the conversation, only knowing I would get beyond angry enough to walk right back over and attempt to knock out more than a few teeth from the Wayne Foods manager. Instead, I frustratedly closed my eyes and attempted sleep.

Almost as if I had blinked, I felt myself be lifted into the air in a gentle hold as the person carrying me guided my head to their chest. Blearily opening my eyes, I was face with a red uniform that I recognized immediately even through my sleep addled brain.

"Flash?" I asked groggily.

"Awake?" He asked softly. I nodded slowly, although my eyes were fighting me to close again.

"Everyone's asleep right now. Most of them will be returning tomorrow morning." Flash explained. "Why don't you get some more shut eye? I'll drop you off at your apartment."

I made some sort of noise before I blanked out again, returning to my sleep now that I had a much more comfortable place to rest.

I woke up the next morning in my bed still in the red dress, the comforter pulled into my grasp while the rest splayed over my hips and my shoes neatly laid at my door. I sat up, rubbing my eyes before I stood to get on with my day and plan to get the hero who helped me home a little thank-you-gift for his efforts the night before.

* * *

 **Okay, sorry about not updating Sunday or Monday. I had this on my computer, but I completely forgot to put it up. My bad. So, I threw in a little bonus Jonas.**

 **Hope you enjoyed. Feedback would be appreciated. Have a good night/day/evening/afternoon.**

10/13/2016 raw

* * *

 **BONUS- maybe it happened maybe it didn't. You decide.**

Carrying the barista into her little apartment was surreal to Wally. He'd only ever come to her door, asking in vain for her to make some coffee on her rare days off that would earn him a sharp glare and a steaming cup. Inside made him grin at the girl in his arms.

She liked comfort over fashion, it seemed as he looked at the well-worn couch with two large blankets thrown over the back and several pillows decorating it that seemed mussed from use. Her kitchen was as immaculately clean as her shop's, but he could smell the tell-tale scent of home-made pasta and roast that she'd pampered herself to recently.

The walls were painted and unoffending shade of light brown, playing well off the dark wood of the small able and chairs in her eating nook. A coffee table of the same color and a large TV sat in front of the couch, and movies were stacked next to it. Some classics, some adventures, and a lot of old romances that made flash raise an eyebrow. He didn't know she liked those types of films.

Carefully maneuvering himself into her bedroom, it was like entering a different apartment. The walls were a deep shade of red, almost maroon in color, and her bedspread was a mix of black, tan, and red that played off the walls neatly. The sheets were a black that matched the curtains, most likely purchased to block the sun's rays for all they were worth. On her walls hung posters from Plays and musicals with the cast's signatures on them— _Dogs, Book or Horton, A Grape In the Rain, Jefferson, Lease—_ and so many more framed in bronze. In one corner sat a dark wood vanity, well organized with makeup and brushes, and in another sat an upright piano. He didn't know she played.

One door, it would seem, lead to her closet just across from her bed, and the other on the left of it would lead to her bathroom.

Flash, feeling like this was more intimate than he'd ever been with her, decided it was time to hurry along even though he was dying to get a more thorough tour at some point. Maybe her next day off he'd bug her to let him watch a movie.

Pulling back the sheets and comforter, Flash gently laid the woman across the bed before getting her heels off and pulling the sheets over her shoulder to keep her warm in the closing winter months. As if in a practiced motion, the woman pulled one arm over the comforter and grabbed the corner to hold, pulling the entire thing to get a better grasp to cuddle and making the sheets fall to her hips instead.

Flash sighed at her, knowing that this habit might be the reason she never felt warm in the winter months. Deciding against fixing the comforter, the flash laid her shoes next to the door before making his way out.

When he finally made it outside her front door, he pressed a single hand across his eyes and sighed deeply before thinking, _I am in so much trouble._

And then he sped off to debrief with the rest of the league, disappearing like heroes did after a hard day's work.


	5. Chapter 5

The night after I was kidnapped by my city's red-clad hero, I was working nonstop to make sure my entire restaurant was in check. The incident had me severely on edge, and the only way I knew how to calm my nerves was to either make coffee or organize my shop down to the last coffee grind. I was in the back on the old, archaic laptop I'd gotten with my insurance money, putting together a list of inventory. Chris had so lovingly come in to work as well, but instead of managing the counter, he'd left two interns to the fire and insisted on pestering me instead.

"So, he tucked you in?" Chris asked, leaning his head on the desk, white hair pulled back into an attractive, low bun. "That is the most sickeningly cute, prudish thing I have ever heard. He didn't even cop a feel?"

"Chris, I doubt the hero of keystone would feel up an unconscious woman." I scoffed. "Besides, he's one of my closest friends besides you. He wouldn't do that."

Chris blinked at me with a deadpan look.

"A hero is one of your best friends?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"You _need_ to get out more." He groaned, leaning on his hand now. "Think about it, Erin! You don't even know these people's real names and you're just getting closer to them. Isn't that a little sad?"

"When you put it that way…" I muttered, hitting the backspace key several times.

"And not to mention associating with them has got you in danger." He said seriously, reaching out to tug on a tendril of loose hair falling from my bun. "I don't like it. You're too precious to be in danger."

"Precious?" I snorted. "I'm far from precious. I curse, yell, all of it."

"You're a precious cinnamon roll who's too good for this world," Chris said adamantly, "and a guy who's leading you on. What is he thinking asking you out constantly without giving you a number or a name?"

"Shut up, Chris." I swatted his hand away. "I'm the one who's said no countless times. He gave up a year ago."

Chris snorted.

"Just make sure you stay safe, okay?" He asked.

"Mmhhmm." I hummed. "Now, tell me about that cute host that sat us last night. I refuse to believe _the_ Christopher Lowland didn't get his number."

At the mention of the host, Chris pouted and laid his head down on the desk again in defeat, grumbling something. I raised an eyebrow before stopping my typing and leaning over him, checking his expression thoroughly to make sure I was getting the right message.

"Oh, he didn't!" I giggled. "He turned you down?"

"It's not funny, Erin!" Chris said pitifully. "He didn't even do it nicely. He openly told me I was creepy for staring at him like that."

"More like staring at his ass." I snickered.

"Shut up." Chris said. "He was really cute too."

"It's not like you to give up just like that." I soothed, running a hand through his white locks. "Usually you'd be back on the prowl."

"You know, you're right." Chris said, nodding under my ministrations. "I'll just have to go back and see him again."

"I didn't mean it like that, you dork." I snorted, pulling out his bun and playing with the rest of his hair. "But if that's what you want, I'll support you. Don't think for a second I won't wing you, got that."

"Understood, dear wing woman." He said, eyes drooping tiredly. I turned back to my work for a few hours until I was almost there with him, nodding off when the door to the back opened. Chelsea, one of the older interns, was putting up her apron for the day signaling the start of the late night shift.

"Heading out?" I asked, watching her nod tiredly. "You look beat. Stay safe on your way home and make sure you get lots of rest in time for that English test tomorrow."

"Don't remind me." She groaned softly, mindful of Chris's sleeping form. "Shouldn't he be on the couch?"

"Yeah, probably." I said. "I'll get him there since he's supposed to be working with me tonight."

Chelsea nodded before waving goodbye and leaving the room. I turned to Chris before gentlyshaking his shoulder. He popped one, tired eye open to show me he was listening although it seemed bleary with confusion.

"Get to the couch." I ordered softly. He stood slowly before stumbling towards the small, stained sofa and crashing onto it like the oaf he was. I pulled the throw blanket off the back of it and covered him before leaving for the counter.

When I got there, no one was out front. There wasn't a single customer, but that was usual. It was just me, alone with my thoughts. And that was a bad thing. I picked up a cup and started polishing it, leaning against the back counter with a frown. My grip tightened and loosened when I came to troubling thoughts, wondering if the league was okay or if my shop was going to get blown up or something just to catch me in it.

The jingle of a bell stopped my thoughts in their tracks, a polite smile coming to my face as I spotted the figure of someone I'd seen only the night beforehand.

"How can I help you?" I asked the green lantern that had entered my shop, watching him look around with a scrutinizing gaze as if he were trying to figure out if he liked the space or not.

"The usual." He said gruffly, handing me a piece of paper when he got close enough. I nodded, turning my back ot him to get to work. I turned the TV on before working through the order systematically, figuring out how I could do it the quickest but still get some good quality.

I was in the middle of Wonder' Woman's usual frappuccino when the lantern spoke behind me, making me slow my movements.

"You're not going to ask about last night?" He wondered at me, and I reached to mute the TV before speaking.

"Are you really going to tell me anything I already don't know?" Asked, moving to the pastry display. "The guy who's after your civilians made some big play last night, and we all had to relocate so you could keep a better eye on us. What I don't know is why Flash was so angry on the phone, or if you caught the guy."

There was a heavy sigh and I turned to look at the lantern with a smile, handing him a mug with what I assumed to be his usual.

"Double French roast mix, three shots of espresso with four scoops of creamer?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow before taking the cup and tipping his head back for a taste. His green eyes blinked in bliss at the taste before he leaned on the counter, something Flash and Superman did on occasion.

"We lost sight of you." He said after a few minutes of sipping his coffee, like it gave him the strength to say the words. "Your routine was very repetitive, not real deviations. Wake up, go to the shop, maybe get takeout, maybe just go straight home, wake up, do it all over again. We needed eyes elsewhere, thinking you'd be fine and we'd just pick up where ever you were in your schedule. But then we lost you."

"And Flash got worried." I supplied. "And angry."

"Everyone was worried." He said, rubbing his neck. "Wonder woman couldn't stop pacing, Martian Manhunter was flipping through those screens like crazy trying to pick up sign of you. Hell, Superman didn't speak unless he thought we might've found a hint to where you were. _No one_ reacted well when they finally found you either."

"I was out on a date." I defended myself, making the man chuckle behind my turned back.

"There's a reason why you're not allowed to date." He said and I groaned, and he continued on with his line of thought. "But mostly, it's because we we're upset with ourselves. Your safety our responsibility, Erin. Loosing you meant we failed."

"You didn't fail, none of you did." I rolled my eyes. "Honestly, you supers beat yourselves up over nothing. I'm going to be fine, so focus your energies on places that need them."

There was silence for a few beats, the sipping of coffee, clanking of cups and glass, and churning of the machines the only thing going at the moment before the lantern spoke again.

"You're very thoughtful." He said. "But you're too involved with the league. If that's going to continue, this is how things are going to be."

"What, you guys worrying about me?" I snorted.

"Exactly." He said, although I could tell the words were distracted when a little gasp escaped form his mouth. I turned around to find his gaze trained on the TV, a baseball game playing out. It was Keystone Bolts against the Gotham Goliaths, and the Bolts were in the lead by only one run.

"Did we score?" I asked, frowning at the defense. The goliaths were no pushovers from what I understood.

"Yes, but then Dovan stuck out." He said, sipping the coffee. "Batman won't be happy about this game when he gets back."

"Batman likes baseball?" I asked, making a face. Somehow I couldn't picture any defender of the crime capital liking anything so mundane. The lantern chuckled before shaking his head, and it hit me. Shouldn't he be wearing a mask? I wouldn't ask about it, he might not like my prodding.

"Something like that." He said, before standing and stretching. I had the cups in a carrier and the pastries in their box, placing them neatly upon the counter. He reached for a pocket on his suit, and I held up my hands.

"On the house." Is said quickly, making him frown. "It's always on the house."

"Whatever you say." He shrugged. "Thank you, Erin."

"No problem, stay safe out there." I said, watching him leave. It was just as funny to watch the man glow green before taking off like superman or Wonder Woman did. I giggled to myself before cleaning up around the bar, butting cups away and cleaning the on that had just been used. When my back was turned, the bell jingled a second time.

Unusual, I thought. I only ever got one customer during the night shift. Turning around, I was met with a welcome soght and a new one.

"Nightwing, welcome back." I greeted the hero with a smile. "And with company."

Just behind the hero was the scowling, cross-armed Robin with a foul look on his face, glare expertly expressed through his domino mask. The pair were contrasting easily, mainly with Nightwing's smiling face and the Robin's scowl.

"What can I do for you tonight?" I asked, leaning against the counter with a grin.

"Just came for some coffee and food." The older hero said, walking forward. Robin made a sound off annoyance, something close to 'tt' if I had my guess, before following Nightwing and taking a seat at the bar.

"What do you feel like?" I asked, moving to the machines.

"Something warm." He said, taking his own seat at the bar.

"And you?" I asked the little hero. He gave me a look that said 'you're not worth my time, why are you trying' and didn't answer. "Milk?"

"Are you _trying_ to patronize me?" he asked haughtily.

"Why yes, yes I am." I grinned, finding his annoyance incredibly cute for such a small boy. "Now what do you want to drink? Hot, cold, thick, thin?"

"He'll take something decaf." Nightwing cut in, eyes glancing at the small hero. "Extremely decaf."

"Okay, so hot, double espresso with five pumps of sugar. Can do." I said, turning to the bar.

"What, no!" Nightwing cried, making me laugh.

Robin made the 'tt' sound again, although this time it was directed at Nightwing. Oh, how I loved broody children. The two bickered back and forth, the little hero saying something about my shop being a waste of time, and the older one telling him to stop and smell the roses everyone in a while. It was at that point that I placed two mugs down in front of the heroes before moving to the microwave nearby. I was happy one of my interns decided to throw in one of the pies we kept. Robin's drink was one of the few that complimented it.

I took it out, sliced it up and put a piece in front of the young hero and a muffing in front of the older one. The young hero looked at me skeptically before picking up the fork I'd handed him and taking a tentative bite. Nightwing and I watched him, grinning as he took a second and third bite.

"Try it with the drink, they complement each other." Nightwing said, doing the same with his muffing and coffee before turning his eyes to the screen and groaning.

"What kind of play is this?" He groaned.

"Get wrecked, Gotham trash." I grinned playfully. "The bolts are the best, and we'll be taking ourselves to the World Series this year."

"Keep dreaming." He said, before giving me a weird look. "Why is the series scheduled so late this year, anyway?"

"Who knows?" I shrugged before turning to look at the little hero. "How is it?"

There was a pause in Robin's movements, his face looked up at me and I don't think he realized there was a spot of red jelly on the corner of his mouth. I fought to hold in my snicker at the look on his face.

"It's adequate." He said, turning back to the pie and continuing to eat. I grinned at him before turning to the older hero.

"So, ever think of moving your business to Bludhaven? Maybe Gotham?" He asked conversationally, making me laugh.

"You're the second person this week to ask me about business ventures in Gotham." I said, shaking my head as my giggles subsided. "I don't think I'll be able to expand with my schedule as hectic as it is. I don't have down-time as it is, and I can't give the nightshift to my manager right now because he's getting over some personal stuff. It'll be a month before I can even fathom moving anywhere if I did want to. "

"You could always partner with a larger organization." He muttered. "Or not. Maybe just move over there entirely. Closer. With twenty-four hour service. And discounts for heroes and servicemen."

"I already have discounts for heroes, soldiers, and officers you dork." I said, rolling my eyes. "And my shop here is twenty-four hours unless it's so incredibly slow that I fall asleep on the job."

"But it's not close enough." He said, smiling a hopeful smile at me. "Why don't you move to Bludhaven? It'll make getting coffee way easier."

"Flash would kill both of us, you know that right?" I asked, grinning.

"Who cares what the red-clad moron thinks." Robin piped up with a frown, and I laughed so hard it was a feat to breathe. He had enhanced my insult while he had red-jelly smothered across his mouth. "Just move wherever you please. And Gotham is far better than Bludhaven."

" _Hey_ ," Nightwing said, although he was chuckling as well. I nabbed a napkin and tossed it to the little hero, grinning at his look of angry, broody questioning.

"You've got a little jelly on your mouth." I grinned. "I would've reached over and gotten it myself, but I don't think heroes like their personal space invaded by people they don't know."

Robin gave me a look of annoyance before rubbing his mouth haughtily with the napkin, only serving to make both Nightwing and I laugh.

"So, how is Flash?" the hero asked once we both stopped cackling.

"He's… I don't really know actually." I said, frowning and crossing my arms. "He kidnapped me last night, left me in a warehouse, and then took me home and tucked me in. That's the most I've seen of him since his banishment."

"So he's doing okay?" He asked.

"Probably." I shrugged. "He seemed really angry when I first saw him last night, though. Something about me not being allowed to date."

"You were on a date and he kidnapped you?" He asked with a grin.

"With my manager." I rolled my eyes. "Who bats for the same team I do, so it was more of a friend date"

"Ah." He said, leaning into his hand. "And is this manager attractive?"

"Well, yeah." I said, looking at him while both Robin and I raised an eyebrow. "What, are you interested? He's single, just so you know."

"Wha- no!" Nightwing said, reeling back. "I was asking because of Flash."

"Flash told you to ask?"

"No, flash might have gotten jealous." He sighed exasperatedly.

"He wasn't jealous; he didn't even know Chris was my date." I rolled my eyes. "And I doubt he's ever seen Chris."

" _Right."_ Nightwing said, although the inflection in his voice said otherwise.

* * *

"I can't believe this." Flash said to himself once he got done debriefing. Just after he got back from Erin's, he was issued a mission off planet for a week. A week without coffee or knowing that he wasn't banned from the place he got said coffee. He'd miss Erin's day off, which was just the day it was easier to talk her into taking a day off. His movie plans were ruined.

But then again, how was he going to watch a movie with her, at her apartment, and not be expected to remove his cowl? He knew she wouldn't ask that of him, it just wasn't the way Erin worked, but it would get awkward sitting there in his costume while she was in her regular clothes. She wouldn't say anything, but it would be rude and annoy her most likely.

How to go about getting a movie night with his favorite barista.

And then it hit him with such force he couldn't stand.

How was he so stupid he hadn't come up with it before? Well, he obviously had to some degree, but the dangers were a bit higher. Would she figure it out, or was her sleep deprivation enough to keep her from noticing?

The hero rubbed his exposed chin, debating the risks and how to go about it when a Green Lantern walked past with a familiar cup in his hand.

"Coffee's here." He said as he passed, and flash was at the monitoring womb in record time to grab Erin's creation.

Heroes were milling about, talking and conversing with coffee in their hands. It had become routine, work until coffee got there, take a break until your coffee was done, and then go back to work. It was like a social hour with drinks and snacks. Flash got his cup and took a long, luxurious sip of his coffee girl's creation before grabbing the seven bags that were always designated for him and took a seat at the nearest table to continue planning out what he was going to do.

"I know what you're thinking." A voice said, and flash whipped around with his mouth full of muffins to see a Martian coming over to his side with a cup of coffee in his hands. "Are you sure about it?"

Flash swallowed before answering.

"Not yet." He said, leaning on his hand. "I don't want to put her in danger if she figures it out. Her sleep deprivation might make it easier for me to pass it off, but I don't want to risk it."

"She won't notice." The Martian said with confidence.

"How do you—you haven't!" Flash said, eyes widening.

"When the mood strikes, I have." The Martian nodded. "It's not the risk I'm talking about. I'm wondering if you're sure about her."

Flash looked at him in confusion before he knew what the Martian was talking about.

"She's one of my best friends." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I only get to see her when she's dead tired. I want to change that."

"You want more than that." The Martian said.

"Only if she wants that as well." Flash said, smiling softly. "I wouldn't be opposed. I've been trying to get her to say yes to a date for years now. If she says yes this time, I know the reason why she's been saying no."

"You'll be bypassing her reasoning." The Martian warned. "She won't like that if she finds out, and if you keep it up long enough, she _will_ find out."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Flash shrugged before downing his coffee. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a mission to get ready for and a story to put together."

As the flash sauntered off, the Martian smiled at his back. He took a sip of his coffee and a bite of his scone, trying his hardest not to think about the satisfaction he was going to get from the results of Flash's actions.

The betting pool that was going on in the league was about to spiral into madness, and the Martian had just won the pot.

* * *

It was an unusually quiet afternoon before the night shift, with very few customers in the shop. Only two were around, sitting in completely opposite corners and I sighed at the sight before my thoughts wandered.

It had been a week since I'd seen Flash, and I didn't want to ask the heroes that stopped by because I felt the information would be confidential. However, I resolved to ask if he was doing alright tonight. I was at least allowed that much information.

So far, the Lantern and Wonder Woman had graced my shop this past week, something about others being out on missions and headquarters getting busy. I could imagine, since they dealt with intergalactic issues as well as earthly ones. It was no wonder I hadn't seen more of my regulars.

The jingle of a bell brought me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to meet the brightest pair of green eyes I'd ever seen, a stunning shock of red hair, and the brightest smile that tickled the back of my memory. He had his hands shoved into a big brown hoodie, faded jeans hanging nicely off him, and his shoes looked worn and beaten like they'd been with him for years.

"Hi." He greeted.

"Hey," I said, offering my own smile since his was so contagious. "What can I do for you?"

"What do you have?" He asked, leaning against the counter as he took his hands out of the hoodie and drummed them against the glass.

"Depends on what you want." I grinned. "Warm, cold, thick, thin, black, brown?" I asked.

"Warm, sweet, and large." He said. I looked him over before moving to the machines. This would be fun, creating something for someone I barely knew. He seemed like the hyperactive sort, so maybe something that would calm him down. A soothing taste. "So, how about that Bolts game last week?"

"Oh, we crushed it." I answered back easily. "I don't think the Goliaths will be able to crawl back out of their shame for another five seasons."

"Man, it would've been a good game to see." He chuckled.

"I dunno, it was obvious that the bolts would win." I shrugged. "I like more action, honestly."

"Really?" He asked, as if my words amused him. "Wouldn't have pegged you for the type."

"Don't judge a book by its cover, I guess." I said, turning around and widening my eyes at the man. It was like his gaze was penetrating my back, soft smile as if it were sharing an inside joke with itself. I shook my head before handing him the cup. "Here you go, mister…"

"West." He said, pulling out his wallet. "Wally West."

* * *

 **So incredibly sorry about how late this update is. I got wrecked by college apps and work, so I only had this half finished for the longest time. Anyway, please enjoy and Happy halloween!**

Raw: 10/30/2016


	6. Chapter 6

"Red."

"Black."

"Red _."_

"Black _."_

" _Red."_

"For god's sake, Wally!" I cried, crossing my arms. "It is just the color of my dress, and if you want to argue with me the benefits of what color over which, I promise I will win hands down."

"Have at me." The redhead grinned raising his eyebrows and sipping on his drink.

"Black is far more slimming and less offending of a color." I growled.

"Red looks better, and you already look thin." He smiled. "Why go with something you don't need?"

I made a frustrated sound into my palms, glaring at the insufferable regular with the intensity of several suns. Chris, who was behind the counter, fought down chuckles at out antics.

The man had suddenly started coming to my shop a month ago, exactly at the same time every other day. Wally West, a police mechanic for the main branch of the keystone police department, had taken it upon himself to absorb all of my attention during his visits by drawing me into nonsensical conversations. He reminded me of Flash sometimes, and other times he was so completely unlike the hero that I would find it funny the differences in them.

Why I compared him to the red-clad idiot, I didn't know. Maybe it was how his smile seemed somewhat familiar to the hero's or how they shared the incessant need to tease me. However, the similarities stopped there. Whereas Flash was a bit more cautious with how he interacted and spoke with me, Wally seemed relaxed and a bit more carefree.

"Tell you what, Miss Grey." Wally started, smiling that lovely smile again. "I bet you'd look gorgeous in a potato sack. Any color will be fine."

How we got on the topic of my dress for the upcoming holidays was beyond me. On Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, the staff dresses to the nines to serve coffee with cheer. The Men are required to wear tuxes and the ladies in cocktail dresses. It was made a tradition when Chris and I were forced to come back to work after one of our friend dates, the both of us dolled up and ready to fix the disaster that Matt, a new intern at the time, had gotten himself into.

"Oh, what a charmer." I said sarcastically.

"Why, I know I am." Wally grinned cheekily. "Which is why you should say yes to a movie date with me this Thursday."

There was a startled silence, my looking at the redhead dumbfoundedly as he stared back up at me with hopeful green eyes. I blinked a couple times, opening and closing my mouth like a fish out of water.

"She says yes!" a voice yelled from the front of the store. Both Wally and I turned to see Chris practically leaning over the counter, earnestly watching the conversation. I raised my hands in a 'what the hell' gesture as he pulled himself upright. "Erin Jessica Grey, you need to get out more and _that_ is a very fine, handsome and charming young man, who gets your sense of humor and compliments your personality mind you, that just offered you some Netflix and chill!"

"Now, I don't know about the Netflix and chill." Wally said, face getting a bit flustered.

"Hush, it was just an expression." Chris snapped at the redhead before turning his attention back to me. "You have missed every opportunity for romance so far because of your special regulars and Thursday is the one day you can take off. _You. Are. Going."_

Chris walked over to the table, his own green eyes ablaze as he crossed his arms and looked down at Wally who only grinned up at him.

"So, pick you up around seven?" he asked.

"Seven is good. Seven is wonderful." Chris nodded.

"And should I pick you up here or?" Wally asked, looking a little hopeful. Chris pulled out a notepad before scribbling something down and ripping out a page to hand to the redhead.

"Her address. Keep her out as late as you need. In fact, keep her out until morning. If you don't, she'll come creeping back here!" Chris exclaimed.

"Alright, seven on Thursday, your place." Wally smiled. "Dress warm, the theater gets really cold."

And with that, he grabbed his drink and made his way to the door, waving at me as he left. I stood stock still for a few seconds, as did everyone else in the shop, while Chris marched himself back behind the counter to start making the next round of drinks.

"Did… did you just accept a date for me?" I asked dumbly. "I'm not allowed to date.

* * *

I rubbed my eyes as I stared into the black liquid in my hands. On the TV was an old romance movie featuring Doris Ray, an iconic actress of her time. It was called Comforter Talk, and it featured a bright young playboy songwriter and a smart, young interior designer. Ah, old films usually could take my mind off of my troubles, but not right now.

"You're taking Thursday off?" Superman asked skeptically.

"Thursday night." I sighed, setting the mug down and reaching for the orders he held in his hands. "And Chris should be watching the shop so your orders will turn out fine."

Superman watched me think over the orders for a few seconds, something furrowing his brow seriously before he questioned me further, straightening his shoulders to appear wider and bigger than he usually did.

"Erin, are you in some sort of trouble?" He asked seriously. My eyes flew up in panic as I waved my hands furiously.

"No, no no." I said, shaking my head. "I have a date."

He just frowned at me, crossing his arms.

"You're not allowed to date." He reprimanded me as I turned for the machines.

"I know that, but I am a grown adult who can go on a date at least once a week." I said, pouting.

"A year." Superman bargained.

"A week and a half?" I asked.

"Every solstice."

"Superman!"

"Once a month."

"Deal."

We nodded at each other before I moved to make the drinks again, getting only a quarter of the way done before Superman moved to make me even guiltier than I already was.

"You do know you're going to have to explain your absence to Flash, right?" he asked. I could practically feel his raised eyebrow on my back. I let out a frustrated groan.

"Why?" I asked, spinning around. "Literally, _why?!"_

"Because he's the one on your security detail," Superman started, fixing me with an amused smile due to my annoyance, "and because he's known you for years and would like to stay updated on your life. We all would in fact. What's this boy's name again?"

"He's a man, for one," I started, "And two, I'm not giving you a name. If I did, you'd do some weird background check thingy and then I'd feel bad that the league was watching him and then it'd turn into a huge mess and I actually would like to keep this guy as a friend. Can I have that? Please?"

If Superman ever pouted in his lifetime, it happened right there in my shop.

"Fine."

"You do know that I would have to date at some point just to make sure I didn't end up a crazy cat lady, right?" There was no answer and I just groaned into my hand before turning towards the coffee a third time.

"Just… be careful, Erin." Superman said a minute later. "You're a good friend of the league, of mine, and I don't want to see you hurt."

I blinked at the meta-human in shock for a few seconds before a soft smile spread over my face.

"That is so nice to hear once in a while, you know?" I said softly. "To hear someone worrying about you like that. It's nice. But you don't have to. I'll be fine."

"Anytime Erin." Superman said with a smile. "And you know what would make you even safer?"

"What's that?"

"If you told me this guy's name."

"Superman!"

"Can't blame a guy for trying!"

* * *

Clark was surprised that Erin had refused to at least give him the name of the guy about to take her out. What if he was a liability? A threat? Something to monopolize her time? To distract her from her surroundings?

As soon as he Zetaed into HQ, he the league was notified that the drinks had made it safely on board. So, heroes were either milling about drinking or appearing only to disappear back to their work with a drink and pastry in hand. Superman's tense posture didn't go unnoticed by these heroes, so many of them stayed back to see what had gotten under the man's skin while he was with their coffee girl. Was she alright? She wasn't in any trouble, was she?

"Everything alright, Superman?" Wonder Woman asked in concern.

"Erin's taking Thursday off." He said, sipping from his own latte.

"She never takes off though." Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, said with astonishment. "And that's right before I go to Oa. I'm not going to get my last taste in."

Many of the heroes understood the lantern's disappointment. Some of them were only occasional visitors on the watchtower and looked forward to the coffee girl's masterpieces. To be denied some was both rare and obviously bad luck.

"She has a date." Superman said, the words bitter on his tongue. Honestly, he wondered about that girl's sanity. How could she even fathom dating someone when she was being targeted? It made absolutely no sense.

"I do not think we need to worry much." Martian Manhunter spoke up calmly, pushing Flash forward slightly and nearly making him spill his coffee. "Right, Flash."

"Wow, way to put me on the spot." Flash muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Flash?" Superman asked skeptically and the hero gave a sheepish smile.

"So, I may or may not be taking Thursday off as well." He said, the excitement in his voice coming through ever so slightly.

"Flash, you didn't!" Wonder Woman cried, both surprised and angry at the hero. "You know why she doesn't want to date a hero!"

"It's just going to be a movie!" Flash defended himself. "And I'll be able to keep an eye on her as well."

"So this is just a better way to do your job?" Black Canary asked, crossing her arms. All the women in the conversation. She didn't like this situation one bit, and she also didn't want their coffee girl to be duped like that. She was partial to that coffee, and it had calmed her nerves many a night when a motivational message had been written into the foam of her drink several times.

"No!" Flash cried. "I _like_ Erin! I would love to take her out on a date and treat her like the gem she is, but she won't let me do that as Flash and I understand that!"

"You're always the Flash!" Wonder Woman countered.

"I fail to see the problem." Batman broke in, scowl firmly on his face as he was ready to settle the petty argument in front of him so the league could get back to work. "Erin is in need of a more involved security detail. Flash going undercover like that would be beneficial and Erin knows him the best. Flash's emotions will also drive him to protect her further. I don't like to mix work an relationships, but in this scenario, this is the better turn of events."

The sour looks on the women's faces told Batman just how much they agreed with his words, but the dark night could care less. He had paperwork to finish, monitors to watch, and a threat to dispatch. He turned to the Flash with a serious, intense look.

"Do not screw this up." He said dangerously, the grip on his coffee tightening ever so slightly. "She's in danger, and I don't want her emotionally compromised."

A.k.a., Erin could not die, get upset, or even doubt the league at any turn or Flash would catch hell. Message received crystal clear, Flash thought morbidly. Even the women looked placated enough by his threat to return to work, moods brightened only slightly by the promise of coffee and maybe a happier coffee girl.

* * *

A ring at my door made my spine go slightly stiff and my heart rate pick up like crazy. I looked myself over, the large green shirt and black leggings accompanied by the brown cardigan and combat boots hopefully wouldn't look too offending on my pale skin and the messy bun to the back of my head would maybe stay put throughout the entire evening.

I opened the door, met with a smiling redhead and a small bag of raspberry filled chocolates. His green eyes sparkled at me with mirth and excitement, only serving to make me smile back as well. Were smiles always this contagious or was it just him? His body was covered with a large brown jacket and under that was a red hoodie and a brown button down. He wore a nice pair of dark jeans and some black sneakers, a red scarf toed around him neck.

"Good evening, gorgeous!" He greeted me putting the bag of chocolate in my hands. "I thought of you on my way over here, figured you were a dark chocolate type of girl."

"Well," I started, moving out of the way so he could come in, "you're not wrong."

Wally entered the living room and looked around, moving towards my movies instantly to take a better look. Good move on his part, movies were my second love.

"Man, what a good collection." Wally whistled as he eyed the titles. "You said you liked action, and I guess this proves it."

"They're separated by genre." I said, moving to stand by him and pressing a button on the movie wrack that switched it out with another one. "This would be the romance section… and then horror…. More action…thrillers… mysteries…"

"Ah, a woman after my own heart." Wally said, placing one hand over his chest while feigning a swoon.

"Oh shut up." I rolled my eyes although a blush controlled my cheeks at the moment. "So, what movie are we going to see?"

"Well, since going to see horror movies on dates is overdone and overrated," Wally said, "I thought we'd either go see a romcom or that new action movie with Benjamin Coberflack. The one with the wizards and the magic that ties into the other superhero movies."

"Oh yeah, I didn't even know it was in theaters yet." I said, getting excited.

I grabbed my heavy black coat and red scarf

Wally walked me to the door before holding his arm out for me. I grabbed onto the hook of his elbow and he led me down the streets toward the theater. We joked and laughed about movies and coffee, sometimes one or both of us bent over laughing at the absurdity we'd uttered. It was going to be sad when we entered the theater and would have to stay quiet for a long period of time. I liked talking with Wally.

We were joking all the way to the beginning of the movie, and luckily Wally felt the same way I did about not talking, so he proceeded to whisper things to me that only made the movie funnier than it already was. When the movie was over, I couldn't remember half of it save for Wally' idiotic jokes that made me laugh.

We ended up eating at a hotdog vendor, grinning stupidly at each other and making jokes about relish. At some point, we'd gotten into a philosophical conversation thanks to the hotdogs we were consuming.

"I don't really like killing animals." I shrugged as he led me back to my apartment. "At least, not the way we're doing it now. I'd prefer there be a little more humanity in the act, you know? Take away the pain factor."

"I completely agree." Wally said softly. "What formed your opinion about things like that?"

"My sister runs an animal shelter in Metropolis." I answered fondly. "She's very passionate about animals and I learned a lot of it from her."

"Younger or older sister?" he asked.

"Older, actually." I smiled. "I haven't spoken with her since after my parents' funeral."

There was a beat of silence.

"Erin, I'm sorry…" he started.

"Oh no, It's fine." I shook my head. "I'm okay with talking about them, and my sister."

"But that's not a first date topic." He argued.

"Family is _so_ a first date topic." I grinned. "What about yours? Any brothers or sisters?"

"No, only child." He answered simply, happy to have a change of subject. "But I am really close with my aunt Iris."

"That's cute." I grinned. Only to find us stopping at my apartment door. How did time fly by so quickly?

"Well Miss Grey, I believe this is the end of our first date." Wally said, although he made no move to detach himself from me nor from him. "I'd kiss you, but that's taboo on the first date. Maybe the second one."

I felt my cheeks flair to life and I gave a frustrated groan into my hand.

"Are you _always_ this forward?" I asked.

"Only around beautiful, short, feisty baristas." Wally grinned, finally moving his arm from my grasp. "Get inside, I don't want you catching a cold."

"Alright." I said, opening the door only to turn back to him quickly, "I had a really good time tonight, Wally. Thanks for that."

It was his turn to blush, his cheeks and ears reaching only half the intensity that his hair always held.

"No problem. We'll do it again." He smiled at me dumbly. "See you at the shop?"

"Of course. Good night." I grinned before softly closing the door and leaning against it. Oh how nice a night it was!

* * *

Flash couldn't stop smiling to himself for the rest of the week. His date with the barista had gone even better than he'd hoped. She was so… _funny_ when she wasn't practically dead on her feet. And caring. And attentive. And oh so attractive, which was only a bonus in her court of course.

The league, who were mostly in the know about him and the barista, were all amused about his dreamy behavior. They could also tell that their coffee girl was in a good mood as well, what with the added little bonuses to their drinks, only slight variations that enhanced the taste that much more. Both the barista and Flash were on cloud nine with each other, and the league could barely find anything wrong with it.

"How was your date?" Diana asked Wally then next time she saw him.

"Wonderful." The flash said both dreamily and smugly. "She said she had a good time and we're going to go out again. Soon!"

Seeing the man so happy and joyful gave the amazon warm feeling in her chest, and that made her rethink her opposition to the whole thing. But then again, if they did stay together for a long time, Erin would find out and then… who knew what would happen next.

"I am glad you two are happy." She said but turned serious for a second. "Just be sure you stay careful with her. She's sharper than you think."

"Oh I know." Flash grinned. "Erin's really smart. She finished college in two years."

Diana only shook he head at the red-clad hero, but found his infatuation and joy with the woman contagious and calming. Hopefully the relationship would last. The league needed something good for them, and maybe Wally and Erin were only the beginning. Hopefully they were only the beginning. If only a certain dark knight would stop being so oblivious.

Diana left the Flash to his work moving instead to her own thoughts about relationships and work related emotions. How would romance even fit into that? How did Green Arrow and Black Canary make it work? Never mind, they were beyond dysfunctional as well.

Somewhere in Star city, two blonde lovers sneezed simultaneously.

* * *

 **so... this chapter was late.**

 **and it sucks too.**

 **I'm probably going to be adding more to it after I finish a couple more chapters.**

 **Read enjoy as much as you can.**

RAW: 11/14/16


	7. Chapter 7

"And then what happened?"

"We got hotdogs and made relish jokes."

"And _then?_ "

"We talked about family, he took me home, and then I came here the next day."

"Not even a good night kiss!" Chris cried. " _Lame._ "

"Not all of us want to get some on the first date, Chris." I sighed at his pout. "But I think well go for another date soon. And maybe another after that. And a few more."

Chris blinked at me as he leaned against the counter of the shop, empty as it was during the afternoon. Then his confused look turned into an amused grin as he leaned into his hand, giving me a smug face.

"You like him." Chris emphasized.

"Yes, he's a good customer and a nice guy." I deflected, grabbing a mug stiffly and starting on polishing.

"No, you _like,_ like him."

"Shut up, Chris."

"Do I hear wedding bells?"

"I swear to god, I will beat you over the head with this mug."

"Kinky." The man winked before fixing me with an innocent look. "But I'm sure I'm not the one you want to beat, right."

"Oh my _god."_ I said, covering my red face. "Depraved!"

"And you love it." He said before turning his head to the sound of chiming bells. I saw his eyebrows raise out of the corner of my eye, and I looked toward the customer myself with curiosity.

"Oh, Mister Freeze." I smiled fondly to the tall man clad in his protective suit. "What brings you to keystone this time of year? Any plans I should know about, places to avoid?"

"Your sense of humor is lacking today, Miss Grey." He said coldly, taking a seat at the bar. "And you have yet to cut your hair, Mister Lowland."

"It looks snazzy like this!" Chris cried, fingering the snowy strands that fell out of the tight bun on his head. "Muns are in."

"They're not." I snapped before turning my attention to the man, his blue lips turned slightly upward at our back and forth. "What can I get you this time?"

"Frozen, dark, caffeinated." He said.

"On it!" I said cheerily, turning my back to the villain that now started harassing Chris.

The man had first entered my shop about a year ago, and it was nothing short of shocking at that time. I had been far more interested in why the hell a frozen man wanted coffee than why he was in keystone, though. I remembered being scared out of my wits, praying that Flash would drop in and somehow rescue the shop without freezing it in the process.

But, the man seemed fairly… decent. In fact, after he had a sip of coffee, he was agreeable. Of course, the coffee we served was not at sub-zero temperatures like his body, so it was technically a piping-hot cup for him, and a piping hot cup to warm you up will always make someone less crotchety.

"Miss Grey, your work never ceases to amaze me at how calming it is." Mister freeze said. "And you as well, Mister Lowland, have a far more calming air about you than normal."

"Thanks!" Chris beamed. "I try to get to Erin's level of sleep deprived chill."

"Oh, ha ha." I snorted. "Pick on the girl that works seventeen hour shifts."

"You didn't last night." Chris wiggled his eyebrows in a way that was meant to be seductive, but came off as darkish on his grinning face.

"Shut. Up." I forced the words out.

"Why did you not work a full shift?" Mister Freeze asked, raising an frozen eyebrow. "If you do not mind my asking?"

"She had a date." Chris sang and I groaned for maybe the thirtieth time that day.

"It was a first date and he's not shutting up about it." I moaned. "Do you know how annoying he gets about me and my romantic life? It's stupid!"

"You _like_ him!"

" _Oh my god!"_

"Now, now children." Mister Freeze chastised, though our banter was amusing him. "Don't argue in front of customers, it's unseemly."

"Yes sir." We both consented, and I handed him his drink with a huff and a roll of the eyes that earned myself a chuckle. And it was at that point that the bell chimed to signal another customer. I looked up and my eyes widened to find a shock of red hair and closed off green eyes.

"Erin" Wally nodded, though he looked tense. His gaze didn't move from Mister Freeze, and I felt fear latch onto my heart. If the idiot decided to be stupidly heroic for no reason, he wouldn't stand a chance! "Chris, everything alright?"

"Just fine." I smiled to assure him before walking over and grabbing his arm. I could feel Mister Freeze glance over at us, only watching the scene for a few seconds in interest before returning to his drink. "One of my occasional customers decided to drop by for a chat, no harm done."

"Occasional customer?" he asked, voice tight with both concern and reprimand that was promised to me later.

"Yes." I nodded, raising my eyebrows in challenge. "Now, what can I get you?"

I could see the gears turning in his head, could see the need to say something or do something but I could tell he knew better. He sighed heavily, still glancing at the frozen man from time to time, before nodding at me.

"You know what I like." He said before fixing me with a serious stare. "And we're talking about this later."

I glared at him openly, frowning at his idiocy and the fact that he was going to dictate my business after one date. Sure he was fine as hell, funny as hell, but one month and one date does not equal a strong enough relationship for you to dictate my business ventures.

"I think you'll want to rethink your attitude before we have that talk, Wally." I hissed. "Because you're sounding a little presumptuous after just one date. Maybe an ice cold cup of fuck off will do you good."

I heard a whispered 'oh shit' from the counter. I whipped around to see Chris watching the scene, hand over his mouth and eyes alight with worry and annoyance with Wally. I raised my hands once again in a 'what the hell' gesture.

"Sorry, it's like watching a train wreck." He answered. Mister Freeze, god bless him, was still paying no attention to us and busied himself by listening to the piano music playing overhead and the cold drink in his hands.

I made my way to the counter angrily and started on Wally's drink. I made sure to do it correctly, although my hands were shaky with anger and my expression did not fade into a calm mask as it usually did. In fact, it was rather pinched with annoyance and anger when I slammed his cup, obviously a disposable to go instead of a mug, onto the counter in front of him and held my hand out for his payment. He looked at me with guarded eyes, nothing coming off of his expression though I could see some hesitation.

"You won't win with that one." Mister Freeze said suddenly. "She almost beat me over the heat with a coffee pot for threatening one of her regulars. Trust me when I say she's in safe hands."

And like that he stood and handed me his empty mug.

"Twenty-five thirty-eight." I sighed, and he smiled softly.

"Still charging five times the regular price, I see." He stated.

"Still committing crimes, I see." I countered fondly. He put thirty on the counter, waving at both Chris and I before leaving and walking down the street like any other civilian. It was then that I turned my eyes back to the redhead in challenge, frowning rather impressively at him.

"What just happened?" he asked seriously. "You serve criminals?"

"I serve anyone who comes into my shop." I clarified icily. "Criminal or not, and as you can see, there is a penalty for openly playing in the organized crime circuit."

"Do you understand how dangerous that is?!" He cried, slamming his large hands down onto the counter. "Erin, he's killed people! He's far beyond dangerous and you're treating him like a common customer!"

"I'm just gonna-"

"Because he is a common customer, you freaking judgmental prick!" I yelled back. "This is a neutral zone, and has been ever since I've had heroes and villains come here!"

"There are more?!" he yelled.

"—take my break—"

"Yes!" I screamed. "Of course, there's always more and there's nothing I can or would do about it. Some of these people are really nice and others just need a freaking pick me up! God save me if I can fucking relate a little to a criminal!"

"Erin, that's inane!" He cried. "You—you have absolutely no way to defend yourself, and you have no way of knowing that those people won't take advantage of you!"

"—hope you don't mind."

The jingle of bells went unnoticed as our screaming match continued, and Chris was escaping down the road in a hurry, most likely headed for the Locke hotel and that cute host he was so obsessed with.

"Do you not think I understand that?!" I fired back. "Do you think I'm stupid!? I know the risks, and I trust that in the end I'll come out okay!"

"HOW?!" He yelled, grabbing me by my shoulders in both frustration and something akin to fear, as if in a moment I would evaporate right before his eyes. "How? How can you have so much faith?"

I blinked, staring into his green eyes alight with worry, narrowed with frustration, and most of all colored with fear. What he was afraid of, I could only guess, and it was not the villain. No, he was very much read to fight the man.

"Because I have the best eyes, the best security, and the best friends I could ever ask for watching over me." I nodded. "And that's all I need."

Wally let out a long, loud groan into his hands in frustration as if he were mentally contemplating letting me go on with my serving of those that worked in the underworld. He closed his green eyes and sighed into his hand before taking a seat at the bar and drawing me close, gripping my hand tightly as if he were afraid to lose it.

"You," he started, "are so far beyond worth it, but you're so reckless." He ground out.

"Yeah." I nodded, he was mostly right, and who am I supposed to deny that compliment.

"Just promise me that, whoever this security detail is, you'll let them know." He said, pleading me. "Erin, I don't think you understand how worried I am over you."

The thought of telling Superman—no, _Flash_ was beyond terrifying. But, it wasn't like he was wrong. I assumed the league knew, but maybe they didn't. If they found out by accident, all hell could break loose and then where would my shop be? Rubble, that's where.

"Alright." I nodded. "I'll let them know if they don't already."

"And if you're ever in any trouble, call me." He said seriously.

"Wally, I don't think—"

" _Promise._ " he insisted, and one look at those green eyes had me consenting.

"I promise." I nodded, and some tension finally left his frame. He slumped on his stool, squeezing my hand before opening his arms wide. "Excuse me?"

"What, it's a hug." He said, flexing his hands for emphasis as a small smile formed on his face. "A makeup hug. We just had our first fight, and now we have to have a hug."

"You are so stupid." I sighed, but leaned in anyway, letting him wrap his big arms around my far smaller body and swaying a bit as he cuddled me in a tight embrace.

There was another jingle of bells that went unnoticed by the both of us, and a second set of green eyes taking in the scene.

"You two are the epitome of prude!" Chris cried, breaking the moment rather effectively. "A makeup hug, really? No one is here, you have prime make-out space and privileges in the back, and you go for a _hug?_ "

"What can I say, I'm a gentleman." Wally said before giving me a smoldering smile, "At least until the third date that is."

"Depraved." I sighed, lightly flicking his ear.

"No honey, that was hot." Chris corrected, winking at Wally as he passed. Wally winked back and we moved on with our day, though I was practically dreading the night shift.

* * *

"Just let them know, just let them know, how in the hell am I supposed to just casually let them know?" I groaned to myself, the shop empty of customers. I decided I would calm myself down with a Marilyn Manrue classic, _How to Marry a Billionare._ I was well into the classic, leaning on the counter and waiting for a pie to get out of the oven when a jingle of the store's bells alerted me and made me stiffen in anticipation. I turned slowly, only to exhale in relief.

"Hey hero," I said to robin with an easy smile, "Here on your own this time?"

He gave the non-committal 'tt' that he had most likely trademarked before taking a seat at the bar, and taking in the scene on the TV.

"I would like what I had last time." He said, nodding at me.

"Pumpkin Spice Latte, a little added salt and cinnamon?" I asked, cocking my head. The hero just frowned and I laughed at the look, turning around to make the drink. Out of the corner of my eye, though, I could see his interest in the old film. I sneakily, although probably not to his eye, unmuted it and went back to my business, ultimately amused and delighted by his interest.

Only a few minutes later, his drink was done and I had given him his slice of pie right out of the oven and his piping hot latte. He nodded at me, though his attention was turned to the screen and, like him, I grabbed a snack and leaned on the counter to watch as well. We were at the part where they were modeling for the main love interest when the bell chimed again and I met a new here. Robin did not even bother to look up though his calm face ironed out into the familiar scowl as if he knew who was there.

"Hello, how can I help you?" I asked, watching the man with a black cape and cowl, a red Kevlar shirt, black Kevlar tight pants and boots, and a large black and yellow symbol strapped to his chest.

"Just looking for this one." He nodded to Robin.

"It took you that long." Robin snarked. "Amateur."

The new hero frowned, though his gaze turned to my direction, an almost indiscernible look passing over his features.

"Erin?" he asked. "The one that makes all the coffee?"

"I'd assume that's me." I nodded with a polite smile before turning to the machines. He seemed like a dark coffee kind of person, unlike both Nightwing and Robin, though maybe not as strong as Batman's usual. Maybe if I just added creamer… I set to work on the next mug.

"Come on Robin, Bats is looking for you." The new hero said, and I frowned into the cup I was making. I finally got another old film lover in my shop and I'd be damned if I let him go so soon. Or, without a movie to take home at least.

"I'm fine here, you can let Batman know where I am." Robin countered.

"No can do, little man." The other said.

"Here, on the house." I interrupted, shoving the mug of coffee into his hands politely before putting a napkin down and adding a little strawberry pound-cake on top of that. _Stay_ I silently prayed, having too much fun with the hero-child. Whenever it came to children, I always just wanted to keep them in my shop.

The hero looked a bit dumbfounded to suddenly find himself with a drink and snack as I leaned back into the counter, confident that he would stay. A few seconds later, he was still staring at the drink in his hands and Robin decided it would be worth it to say something.

"It's rude to turn down food." He pointed out snootily before turning his attention back to the movie. I saw an almost angered, affronted look pass over the new hero's features before he took his seat and sipped his coffee. It was almost like the two knew each other on a more personal level rather than professional.

After the first sip, the new hero relaxed a bit and started munching on his cake, though the movie did not hold his interest as much as the sustenance did. At that point, yet another jingle of bells rang out in the shop, and I greeted the familiar hero with a warm smile.

"Nightwing, I was wondering when you were going to come visit me." I smiled. The hero looked both confused and amused to see the two others sitting there before walking up to the counter and taking the seat between them. Robin frowned, though his focus returned to the movie right afterward.

"I didn't know it was going to be a party." He said, looking at the other two. "Red Robin and Robin don't usually go out much together."

"Ah." I said, winking knowledgably at the hero who smiled smugly at me.

"Shut up, it's not like it's a rare occasion." Red Robin piped up, frowning at Nightwing though his voice sounded relaxed and held a good natured tone. Again, they seemed to know each other on a more private, personal level. Maybe they all did.

"Oh trust me it is, right robin?" Nightwing asked, ruffling the smaller one's hair and hearing himself a smack of the hand and a threatening glare before Robin's gaze turned yet again back to the movie. "Oh, my usual please, Erin dear."

"Dear?" I snorted before moving to complete the order. In a couple of minutes, I had his slightly chocolaty drink and muffin in front of him as he chatted lightly with Red Robin about work that I wasn't supposed to know about. Instead, I turned my eyes to the screen just in time to witness the part where Paula got on the wrong train and met Eddie.

"Such a cute romance." I smiled.

"She's an idiot." Robin said, shaking his head. "Why would anyone get rid of something that is necessary to better your sight only to look more attractive?"

"A lot of people are self-conscious about their looks." I explained. "And in that time period, glasses were supposedly unattractive and she wanted a rich husband."

"But Eddie isn't rich." He said.

"And that is the power of love." I said, and Robin looked both affronted but also appeased. "You know, if you think that's dumb, you should watch _Brunch at Stephanie's._ It's a classic with Aubrey Stepurn and Greg Pepper. Lord, that was a good movie."

He nodded, eyes still on the movie. I turned to the other two, only to find them wildly amused at the youngest having an interest in the film. I sent a heated glare their way, and they both lost that amusement and turned back to their drinks and snacks. With a satisfied smile, I returned to my spot behind the counter. It was going to be a good night.

After the movie finished, all the heroes seemed like they knew their time was spent. I tapped the smallest one on his shoulder before handing him a small loan. He looked at me skeptically, grabbing the DVD case.

"It's not _Brunch at Stephanie's,_ I left that one at home, but it's still a good one. It's actually the film adaptation of an old play by Otis Wilds, _The Urgency of being Earnest._ Make sure you return it to me at some point." I said, tapping the case in his hands.

"What makes you think I want to watch this?" he asked haughtily.

"Because you sat through the entirety of an old romance from the 1950s." I smiled. "And I promise it won't disappoint."

He made the cute 'tt' sound again before stuffing the case in his belt and walking out without a goodbye. I shook my head fondly before turning to the counter to clean up, though a voice stopped me..

"You did a good thing." Nightwing said. I turned to find him just before the door and I shrugged.

"I just wanted to expand his movie repertoire." I said, smiling.

"No, you did a little more than that and you know it." He said, cocking his head. "The kid doesn't get many emotional outlets other than this job, and this movie interest might be good for him."

"Whatever could you mean?" I asked, widening my eyes as if I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Mmhhmm, you just keep playing dumb and cute, Erin." He said, shaking his head at me with a smile. "See you the next time I see you."

And like that, he was gone with the other two.

* * *

"Superman, we have a situation." Flash said to the metahuman. Superman raised his eyebrows, concern briefly flashing over his face as he was well aware where flash had been.

"Is she alright?" he asked.

"Did you know she serves criminals?" He asked seriously, and with those few words all work ceased in the monitoring womb.

" _What?_ " Cam Batman's sharp reply, having overheard and also knowing where the Flash had been.

"I went to check up on her in my civies and I just happen to drop by at the same time as Mr. Freeze." He said, narrowing his gaze. "And then she defended herself saying she doesn't mind and that she understands that everyone needs a 'pick-me-up'."

Silence.

"Is she insane?" Came John Stewart's reply. And like that, the entire league went into overdrive worrying about the little spitfire barista who barely broke five feet and was apparently serving coffee and pastries to the baddest of the bad like it was some sort of cakewalk.

"Flash, report." Superman demanded.

Flash went through his entire visit, leaving out the hug at the end of course, and he could feel the entirety of the monitoring womb sigh in all parts exasperation, respect, and relief.

"We're going to need a composite list of who these visitors are, when they usually visit, and their relationship with her." Superman said.

"And I'm going to assume we won't be able to take any of them out at her shop?" Kyle Rainer sighed.

"It would only make her a target." Batman ground out, not happy by the revelation at all.

They would have to make sure that the shop and its little spitfire barista stayed under careful surveillance from now on.

"And what is Freeze doing in Keystone?" Questioned Wonder Woman.

At that point, Batman had already moved toward the zeta beams.

"Already working on it." He said, moving towards the tubes. it was going to be a long holiday season.

* * *

 **So, late. Yes, I know and I have a good reason. It's caroling season and as a madrigal, I'm normally out late after school so it took me a while to finish this. The next update should happen around christmas break, so please be patient.**

 **Anyway, thanks to all those who reviews, I counted twelve for the latest chapter and you guys make my day every time I see one.**

 **Before I forget, happy early birthday to '** guest **.' I'm a sucker for birthdays.**

 **Please enjoy until next time.**

RAW:12/5/2016


	8. Chapter 8

"You look tired, sugar." Chris grinned. I glared at him and gave him a very aggravated finger. "Oh no, I'm so wounded."

"I'm literally on my third straight shift, please don't fuck with me right now." I warned. I was leaning on the counter from my usual spot, but I had pulled up a chair and was practically sprawled across the top. It was a fight to keep my eyes open; so much that I was contemplating ordering Chris to get me a double espresso with red-bull in it.

"We could always play a game." Chris offered.

"Or you could make something that would give me cardiac arrest." I countered grumpily.

"Nope, game time." He said, flicking my ear before disappearing in the back to only reappear with a deck of was early afternoon, Chris was bored and I was about to pass out on the top of the counter, so why not? I hadn't stashed any movies in the back for us to watch, but I did happen to have a deck of cards and the monopoly game laying around without dice. So, we made do and took out the aces, kings and jokers and made the cards our dice, shuffling them thoroughly to make sure we wouldn't get doubles. Only thirty minutes into the game, Chris started losing badly. In my defense, I had always been good at card games, and I only get better when I'm working on zero hours of sleep.

What most people don't know about Chris is that he takes losing to the extremes.

"Put me the fuck down!" My startled yelp rang through the shop.

"Not until you say it." Chris laughed at my pain, steadily tipping me over more.

"I didn't cheat!" I cried, trying to push away from him. I was slung over his shoulder, my face to his back, and I was wobbling precariously from my seat.

"You stacked the deck!" He cried back, swinging me around as he turned to the machines to start them up.

"How can I stack the deck when I can barely fucking read the cards?!" I yelled, which was true. At about hour twenty of no sleep and only caffeine, my ability to read simple script went a bit wonky.

This wasn't the first episode we'd had at the shop. The last time something like this happened, we were throwing back shots while playing the news drinking game. Both of us couldn't come to work the next morning, him with a hangover and me with a badly sprained wrist.

The bell to the shop jingled, prompting Chris to drop me unceremoniously on the floor. I let out a groan as I rubbed my tailbone, glaring at him from my spot behind the counter.

"Hi, what can I get you?" he asked with a charming smile. Usually he had on a flirtatious one, but his new obsession had put a stop to that for now.

"I was looking for Miss Grey." A suave, deep voice said. I stood up with a disgruntled frown, only to have my face turn beet red in a few seconds.

The man was impeccably dressed, what with his dark navy tie, black suit fitted perfectly to showcase a Dorito-esque body type, gold cufflinks and tie pin, and his expensive looking shoes that may or may not have been Versace. His black hair was slicked back professionally, his blue eyes were filled with so much smolder that they might kill someone, and his smile was like any other professional's; downright unfair.

Standing in my coffee shop was Bruce Wayne.

"Sorry about the display." I said suddenly, brushing a stray piece of loose hair behind my ear. Why did I always manage to look like trash when someone important came in? "Can I help you with anything?"

"I'm assuming you're Erin Grey?" he asked, and I only nodded with the most professional smile I could manage while blushing at least three different shades of red. He held out his hand for me to take. "Bruce Wayne, I believe you spoke with a close friend of mine recently. He said you were having trouble making the time to come to Gotham, so I made sure to stop by while I was in town."

"Oh, I'm very sorry." I apologized sheepishly. "I was going to wait until after the holidays to make any concrete plans. We're very busy around this time of year, and I can't really get anyone to cover for me just yet."

"That's quite alright, Miss Grey." He smiled, and god _damn_ that smile. I was so tired from my multiple shifts that I couldn't focus on much else other than his dazzling, tooth-paste commercial worthy smile. It was like a choir of angels had opened up above us. I mean, sure he might be twenty years older than me, but he still had it going on. It was almost like he could be a really hot dad or something. Fuck wait, didn't he have three sons. No, four! Three? Why didn't I look this up earlier? Did he work out, he obviously worked out. His muscles were practically highlighted by that suit, and holy lord I was tired. "Though, I do hope you have enough time to see me today. I have a very important proposition I'd like to pose for you."

"I- oh, uhm- of course. Would you like to get something to eat or we could step in the back for a few minutes." I said stupidly, rubbing the back of my neck, only to get a pinch on my wrist. My eyes cut sharply to Chris and his own suave smile.

"What she means is, she's been having a few rough days and pulling an all-nighter before a business transaction wouldn't be very beneficial to any of our parties. How long are you going to be in town for, Mr. Wayne?" Chris covered for me smoothly. The man raised an eyebrow, only to have his gorgeous gaze trail back to me as he looked me over.

"I'll be staying for the next two weeks." He nodded. "Would tomorrow at around three work for you?"

"That would be much appreciated." I nodded, though my sleep idled brain couldn't process if I really did have anything going on or not. My eyes slid to Chris's brown ones, and he nodded that I was in the clear. "Where would you like to meet?"

"I was actually hoping to have some coffee." He said, light teasing playing in his eyes that made me want to just melt and- holy fuck girl, your thirst needs to chill. He's a good fifteen years older than you _at the least._

"We do have the best coffee in town." I nodded.

"Wonderful. I'll see you Thursday." He said, nodding to Chris as well before turning to the door and walking out. Both Chris and I watched him go, staying silent for a few minutes before the peace was broken by a low, appreciative whistle.

"Is it weird if I want to call him Daddy?" Chris asked, leaning over the counter with a self-satisfied smirk. "Because _damn_ , no wonder he's a playboy."

"I think my eyes flashed before my life." I said.

"You've got that backwards." Chris said. "And the only thing flashing in my eyes was how tight his ass was in those pants. Should I even be attracted to a guy that's twenty years older than me?"

We shared a look, my face beet red and his full of contemplative seriousness before we both just shrugged equally eager to forget that the entire thing even happened. That is, until Chris kept talking about it.

"I mean, he doesn't swing my way, but doesn't he have sons? Are they even blood related, and if so, are they available?" Chris addled on.

"Chris!" I cried.

"What, inquisitive minds would like to know." He shrugged. "Besides, you've already got a beau that's just as gorgeous, so let us single people have our fun."

I groans, thinking of Wally in that moment. What would he have done if he was there watching me practically fawn over the older man. I was such a bad person when I was tired. Then again, I don't think Wally's ever seen me when I was this sleep deprived. I don't think anyone other than Chris had seen me this sleep deprived before.

"Wait, hold on." Chris said, making the time-out sign. "You've been awake for, like, thirty hours right?"

"Uh… maybe?" I asked, only to find a sick grin spreading over his face.

"You thought Wayne was attractive af, didn't you?" He said, leering at me knowingly.

"Did you just say af?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in confusion.

"Not the point." Chris sighed, patting my cheek. "The point is that you've hit your third wall already, which is you're thirsty-girl wall and we're about to hit the Namaste-wall."

"The what and the who?" I asked incredulously.

"The wall where you could literally jump anyone's bones and then the wall where the last time you hit it, you went all chill and mellow on me before passing out while in the middle of a speech about the medicinal properties of chrysanthemums, which I remember you telling me were the devils' flowers in the middle of that rant." Chris explained. "It also means I can get away with anything, because you won't remember anything past that wall. I'm so putting cinnamon in everything."

"Don't do that, some people are allergic." I sighed, rubbing my eyes.

"No, people are just less tolerant to the few things that bring happiness to the world." He countered. "Now go, turn mellow before I find you calling Wally for a sesh in the back."

"I wouldn't do that, asshole." I frowned. "I'm classy as fuck. I'd at least make him pick me up and take me to my apartment."

"You have literally no sense of adventure." Chris sighed before turning to the register.

* * *

Bruce Wayne was very fond of the league's coffee girl. Not only did she not ask questions, but she was polite, gave exceptional coffee for free, had the right mind to run a very successful business, and had somehow figured out something about his youngest son that he himself had no idea about.

When he'd walked in on Damian watching a black-and-white film about a young widow falling in love with the ghost of a sea captain, he immediately recognized a movie that was not in the mansion's collection. On further investigation, which consisted of grilling his middle son, he'd learned of the youngest's escapades to the familiar coffee bar with his oldest son. All done in costume, to his chagrin.

Damian, the broody small thing that he was, had a slight reverence for the coffee girl. She made the most bitter beverage taste like a rare luxury, and she made pies that made him think of what homes would smell like in the movies he watched. She indulged his little questions, much like how Dick did, with just the same amount of fondness and patience. She didn't ask questions, and she respected his personal space.

She was like a much younger, more modern version of Pennyworth to him. The last time he went, she promised a special treat for when he returned, and he wondered how she would pull it off when she never knew when he was going to show up. She was no specialist that could tell people's schedules by a single glance. In fact, she wasn't really anything special at all, save for her pretty looks and the way she made coffee and snacks like they were meant for the gods.

Maybe he'd demand Grayson to take him sometime soon. Or he would go alone again, but coffee was better when someone else was drinking it with him. Erin didn't drink much coffee around him, much to his disappointment. Why would she not drink what she sold unless she didn't like the taste of it herself? The barista was a strange one indeed. His father must think so as well to have the league keep tabs on her for so long.

Bruce Wayne contemplated more and more over the passing weeks since he learned of Mr. Freeze's appearance in Keystone, at the league's coffee shop. He kept thinking of the civilians in that shop, and the fact that the coffee girl knew him well enough to make banter. She was friendly with him. Did she not know the consequences of being close to the league, or a villain? She couldn't stay neutral with that kind of close contact, it simply wasn't possible. He wasn't about to let her do that to herself without realizing it either.

So he planned a trip to Keystone, and made plans to visit a certain coffee shop. Alfred was supportive of the idea, as he was of most of his ideas these days. He made sure to work with his secretary on his schedule so he'd be able to meet with the barista twice over the course of his stay, presuming one of the meetings wouldn't work out. So, once he had his luggage sent to his room at the Locke hotel, he thought to check in on the girl.

The coffee shop was much homier and luxurious in person than it was on the screens in the monitoring womb, he noticed first. The second thing he noticed was the commotion at the bar and the charming smile of a white-haired male, around six-feet tall give or take a few inches, with tired but lively brown eyes and a name-tag that read 'Chris'.

If he thought the boy looked tired, the barista was dead on her feet. Deep dark circles seemed to be painted beneath her eyes, her skin was even paler than what he'd observed on camera, and her hair was in a frazzled, lifeless limp state rather than the wild halo of black he'd come to expect. An all-nighter, the manager, which he deducted in a few seconds, had said. More like three shifts and working on her fourth one. He'd make a mental not to tell the league no coffee tonight, or else she'd fall asleep in the middle of making the drinks.

It also brought to the forefront of his mind how… ordinary and soothing the entire situation was. Here this girl was, pulling an all-nighter—something that he would have absolutely no trouble doing. It made him think of how different their lifestyles were, how she wasn't trained to withstand hours of grueling work, or how she didn't know how to keep herself awake without the help of caffeine or some sort of pill. And yet, here she was struggling through her work day and most likely the night to make the league coffee, as if it were normal for her to do so. And Bruce realized, it might actually be normal.

It was heartwarming and humbling at the same time to watch her try and do business while in a clear state of exhaustion. It also brought him to worry about her until he remembered she was twenty-three and perfectly capable of putting in a few sleepless nights at her age. It was also refreshing to see her manager cover for her and then stand behind her supportively, like an older brother would his fumbling younger sibling or how a person might help a puppy out of the rain.

And so he made plans to convince the barista to set up a second location, preferably in the west side of Gotham. He remembered her visit to his city, how he'd gotten the report that someone had attempted to mug her and got a small bag of coffee beans in return. Had he only known her for a short time, it wouldn't have affected him in the same way, but he still found himself overly protective of a civilian under his and the league's direct protection, and angry at her smart mouth and audacious reaction to the crime. Things like that may work in Keystone, but women usually got worse treatment than that on the streets of Gotham.

She'd be able to move between the two shops as she pleased, and he'd make sure that Lawrence Tell would stay very well away from her, but right behind his desk and the mountain of paperwork he'd personally assigned after the report he'd received on the night of the synchronized strikes. It would be similar to the one she had in Keystone, and the coffee would be close to the Wayne Enterprises building. He'd make sure of it.

And when she inevitably ran into his second son, as most of his colleagues did, she might just be able to pull him out of the shell that Damian had also been tied to. Dick would finally stop patronizing him about asking her to move something closer to Buldhaven, and Damian wouldn't have to zeta over there just to see the barista and get movie tips. Tim would finally have a safe, comfortable, quiet place to unwind and relax after patrol or class.

And he'd finally be able to get some decent coffee at his job without thinking about zetaign to the coffee shop in his suit for a small taste of some actual caffeine.

* * *

"So, where exactly would this shop be set up?" I asked, looking over the proposal papers a second time.

I had slept for twenty hours straight, woken up, got dressed in my regular uniform, paid special attention to my hair and makeup before rushing to the shop. I beat Mr. Wayne by fifteen minutes, already having made a small cup of salted cocoa for myself. Somehow, I figured he'd be a dark coffee kind of guy, so I whipped up a special roast that was a half and half of my two darkest roasts. After sipping my own cup of the brew, I frowned at its watery consistency before adding a bit of creamer.

Mr. Wayne liked the coffee. He drank the entire thing and Chris made sure to refill the cup once or twice during our meeting. It didn't even seem to faze the man, though his personality seemed brighter and much more relaxed after the first cup. Looking at him now, I could understand why sleep-deprived me thought he was incredibly handsome. He was. In fact, he was a _very_ good looking guy. He might even be considered an Adonis by some standards, but his kind of attractive wasn't my type.

I liked men who were a little more relaxed, a little less clean shaven. A little scruffier and could make me laugh. Redheaded. Made me want to choke them at the same time that they made me want to kiss them. Had the tendency to get on my nerves. Cared about my family problems with my sister. Liked sweets.

"The west side." Mr. Wayne explained. "Preferably close to the center of the business district."

"And the expenses?"

"Covered by Wayne Enterprises, the only precursor being that you sign on as a partner." He explained. I raised an eyebrow.

"Partner?" I asked skeptically. There was no way this man wasn't about to pull my business out from underneath my feet.

"You wouldn't do me any good if I took your company away from you." Mr. Wayne explained, pinpointing my reason for distrust without my having to vocalize it. "I would rather you head your own operation and support Wayne Enterprises in your own way than have you resent us for steeling control from you. You're a bright woman, I wouldn't want to hurt something I'd rather cultivate."

"Wait, whoa, let me get this straight." I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "You want to cultivate me?"

"Your business prowess is promising, as shown by the way you rose from the rubble and then nearly tripled your profits while also managing to give free service to emergency service employees." Mr. Wayne nodded. "Your morals are refreshing, and I feel that with time and experience, you'd be a great asset to my company."

I was floored by the man's confession and praise. It was almost too good to be true, coming from the great business tycoon himself. In fact, it was almost inane. I stared at the man, stunned, for a good five seconds before answering.

"I'm insanely flattered, you have no idea." I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "But I don't know what the future holds, and I hope you don't mind if I make sure that this is non-binding in any way."

"I can promise that you will not be required to enter into any job or position without your consent." He stated, and I felt myself relax. "I've had these papers drawn up by one of my lawyers. Please consider my proposition and fax me the sign papers if you do choose to accept. Here's the number and my office number."

He wrote down the information on a sticky note I had for taking notes on the proposition. We shook hands, him with a charming smile and me with a dazed, almost unbelievable look on my face. He left, and I sat back in my chair with a bit of effort to not pass out at the thought of what I had just been told.

Chris grabbed the large contract, looking it over before frowning.

"We're going to need a good lawyer to look over this, then you'll get to signing." He said. I shot him a sharp look to which he replied with his own. "Don't give me those eyes, this is the biggest opportunity you've had yet and I'll be damned if you pass it up just because you don't want to deal with that prick Tell again."

"How did you know this was about Tell?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you certainly didn't hesitate when you saw the incentives he put in there." He said, lightly slapping me up the head with the contract. "Just make sure you get this to him before he leaves for Gotham again. Lord only knows that man is thirteen levels of busy rolled into one."

I sighed again, knowing he was right. I'd have to get busy.

Lord only knew how my special regulars would react to me being in the crime capital of the nation, and I wasn't keen on finding out.

* * *

 **Okay sugar peas, Imma step on my soapbox for about five seconds before we get to the usual 'hope you enjoyed, I'll update at such and such date, so on and so forth'. Those of you that probably know why I'm getting on my box, please don't follow in their footsteps. For those that do not, I'm going to ask that you at least skim over this author's note.**

I'm going to start off saying that, yes I know I said I'd update during winter break. But let me tell you why that has nothing to do with my soap box and why I am currently standing on it with a look like a disappointed mom's. I am also going to preface this by saying that there are rules about posting on this site that discourage authors from writing a chapter that is purely an author's note, so that is why I tagged it here.

For those of us that pay attention to comments that stories get, there's usually a pretty consistent amount for each chapter. I was averaging maybe seven or eight for each of my chapters, and as the story went on, that number would climb to maybe ten per chapter.

But I had a bit of a time trying to update because of life. Not only do I consistently work thirty one hours a week, but I am also a full-time student, and I also am getting ready for the transition to college. If I add all that up, I find that I have very little time to write if I actually want to get sleep. For example, I as I write this, it is 12:59 AM, meaning I am going to get maybe four hours of sleep tonight.

I want you guys to understand that I write because I enjoy it and I like telling this story, and that's why I stay up on nights like these so I _can_ continue this story. But what I do not like is opening up my email almost every day to find a reviewer, who I do not have a way to contact, demanding that I update. Not only is it misleading due to the fact that it throws off the count of actual reviews, but its also rude and discouraging to myself or any author.

No one likes to be demanded to update. No one is going to get inspiration because someone demanded that they continue a story. No one is going to find pleasure in telling a story in which they were harassed to hurry up and complete. No matter how late they are to update, or how short their next update may be, that does not constitute someone day by day, sometimes twice a day, telling them to update. I don't care if it was just one person or multiple sending the same message (highly unlikely), it's still not right. What it _is_ however, is irritating and a waste of their time and that author's.

So, thanks to the fact that I can moderate reviews and that the reviews in question all came from guests/anons, I have been able to take down most of the reviews pertaining to the fact that I hadn't updated, and liked to point it out in one or two word sentences. Those that have been left are because I understand the frustration of an updated schedule not being followed, and because I found them more polite and somewhat truthful.

 **Okay, now my soapbox can go back in the closet, and I hopefully won't have to whip it out again.**

 **Thank you for all the support, and I apologize for how long this took me to get out. Like always, please enjoy and leave some feedback if you feel like it.**

 **I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but it should be in February. Have a great night/day/evening.**

 _ **Raw 1/24/2017**_


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm moving to Gotham." I said in all seriousness, looking for the reaction I was hoping for. My face fell instantly and I pressed my hand to my mouth. "No, not like that. Maybe… Hiya, so I'm opening up a new shop in Gotham… too much information at once. How about I just not say the word 'Gotham.' Yeah, and then I get them hyped up on coffee and then we'll have a nice chill conversation, right?"

My reflection showed a hopeful smile, only to drop into a deadpan look.

"I am so dead." I told myself, pressing my forehead against the mirror.

It was half past one A.M., and I was currently freaking out in my employee bathroom because how do you tell your overpowered, concerned, coffee addicted customers that they might have to go without for a month or two? You don't, that's how. At least, if you want your freedom that is. I half expected them to lock me up in a bubble-wrapped room with the most worried parental looks I'd ever seen.

Especially after the whole Mr. Freeze episode.

 _"Erin, is there something you wish to discuss?" Martian Manhunter asked seriously after a few bated breaths of tense silence. I knew this was coming, I just hadn't expected it to be him of all people._

 _"Er, I-uhm… yes?" I asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck._

 _"Before you start, I'd like to remind you to organize your explanation very carefully." He said, and the tone was incredibly different this time than any other time he'd spoken with me. "Because I do not want to be forced to do something either of us will regret."_

 _I felt shivers run up and down my spine, and in that moment I saw the serious side of the league; all business, you bullshit me and I'll have you in jail in five seconds flat._

 _"Okay." I nodded, taking a seat across from him. "I want to start by saying I like all my customers. Each and every one I try to give a little something to help them along in their day. So, I don't really like turning anyone down. And then… certain people—people that I can't turn away—come in and I can't stop myself."_

 _"What do you mean?" he asks and I pause in my explanation._

 _"It's like—have you ever been so lost and so down on yourself that you resorted to things you shouldn't have?" I asked him. "I mean, all of us have on a smaller scale and I see that in a lot of people. Not all of us have the same capability to work out of a hole, cope with grief or stress in the same way, or have the resources to spend helping themselves. I can…relate to that. And I don't like seeing people in that hole, but there's not much I can do. But I can make coffee how they like it and create an atmosphere that they can enjoy, you feel me?"_

 _The Martian looked deep in thought, nodding slowly as if he didn't want to admit it._

 _"Alright, so let's just say I have a certain demographic of clientele that are insanely loyal, I guess you could say. The league really isn't my main source of protection, not really." I shrugged, holding onto my coffee mug. "There are smalltime gangs in this city that could cause a bit of trouble for a small shop like this, I could get robbed or attacked easily because my security system is that little bell over the door, and I have no experience in combat. The most I know how to do is shoot a gun, which I do have one—just in case."_

 _The Martian just stared, and I frowned at him._

 _"Don't look at me like that, I don't like having it either, but it's the best security I have when I'm by myself so it's what I'm sticking with." I chastised, not liking how disappointed her looked in me._

 _"You could have told one of us." He said suddenly. "We could have helped you?"_

 _"How?" I asked seriously. "I don't want to take up any more of your time than I have already. You guys barely have time to get coffee, you definitely don't have time to teach me how to fight. And that's okay, because I have hordes of people looking out for this place."_

 _"Explain." The Martian demanded. I sighed, rubbing my eyes._

 _"Did you ever hear about the Formenti Gang?" I asked. "They used to have a hold over Keystone's underground, small as it is. Anyway, a few weeks after my shop opened up, their boss tried to strut in here like they owned the place. Let's just say, a few death threats, five cups of various drinks, and one busted coffee pot later, I had three different factions of the gang watching over this place. And they also have very polite manners, come to think of it._

 _"I've practically bribed thugs with coffee before, enough to the point where I don't get mugged on the streets. The last time some guy tried it here, a customer of mine—Roger is his name, sweet guy. He has two kids in elementary school. Anyway, he dragged him away by the collar and proceeded to let him know_ exactly _who I was. Roger tried to steal from my shop about a year ago. He didn't get very far before I set him down with a mocha and some French toast._

 _"The point of my story is, I don't get mugged. I don't get robbed. Anyone who works at my shop has almost automatic immunity from the crime circuit, from what I've found out. Chris even accidentally joined a gang on the job, and they don't expect shit from him."_

 _The Martian… did not look happy with me. In fact, he looked almost livid… or as livid that his limited facial movement could allow._

 _"And Mr. Freeze?" He ground out._

 _"He came in about two years ago, practically gave me a heart attack. Anyway, he was about to go freezing my shop and I just… I dunno, I was really tired, so I kinda just asked him to stop? The shop was empty at the time, and I think I said something along the lines of 'I really don't want to deal with this right now, can you not?' and he just sat down and stared at me like I was something that just popped into existence right before his eyes. I also beat him over the head with a coffee pot too, but that's another story. Anyway, I'm the only place he can get coffee from, and he likes talking with Chris for whatever reason and he_ does _pay the required price for someone in the crime circuit, so… it's not like I can stop him."_

 _There was silence, tense and insane silence. It wasn't like the usual, almost companionable silence that usually existed between us. I dared to look at the Martian, and it was almost like he was at a loss for what to say, until he finally found his voice and knew what he needed to say._

 _"Were you ever going to tell any of us?" he asked seriously. "Do you know how worried this is going to make half of the league?"_

 _"I mean, I don't tell anyone about your visits to my shop." I said, crossing my legs. "Why shouldn't everyone else get the same treatment?"_

 _"Because your safety is on the line." He stressed._

 _"I'm safe as can be." I insisted. "And Keystone isn't that crime ridden to begin with. I would be far more worried if I was in Gotham."_

 _"Erin, you do not understand." The Martian said, frowning intensely. Each word was said with conviction and frustration, a feeling that I didn't know the Martian was capable of. "You come into contact with criminals regularly, most of which could hurt you beyond what you seem to be able to comprehend. You are the smallest grown human I have seen, physically unable to defend yourself, and you still put yourself willingly into danger. Do you know how that makes me feel—how that makes any of us feel?"_

 _"I'm a big girl." I growled out. "You treat me like a child, all of you do. None of you seem to understand that crime isn't avoidable. Something is bound to happen, no matter if you guys like it or not. That's how this world works. You can't just… bubble-wrap me and tell me to stay away from the outside world!"_

 _"Erin, you're too close for any of us to let you put yourself in danger like this." He insisted._

 _"I'm not in danger!" I yelled, and at this point, I think I got his attention. "If my serving criminals was going to hurt me, don't you think after three years it would have happened? I am safer than you can fathom, you just don't like the possibility that I might be in danger. Whelp, it's time for a reality check because there is always a possibility that something bad can happen."_

 _"_ I know that!" _He cried back, the first time he's ever raised his voice with me. It shocked me so much that I sat back in my seat. "We all know that, and it's for that reason that knowing you blatantly tempt something bad to happen is so worrying. You cannot understand what it is like to watch someone close to you, someone that you are so sure you can help if only you were better, put themselves in harm's way and witness them get hurt."_

 _The silence broke again and neither of us said anything past that. I curled and uncurled my fists, staring into my cup of coffee on the table between us as if it had all the answers I was looking for. I breathed in deeply, thinking for a few seconds about how to phrase my next sentence._

 _"I can't stop serving my customers." I said with a resigned tone of voice, raising my eyes to look at him. "I'm sorry if you or the league feel that I'm out of my depth, but I'm not changing my policies. I will keep their confidentiality and also keep serving them. If this makes any of you uncomfortable, then I don't want you to feel like you have to stay and watch me."_

 _The Martian's eyes narrowed dangerously._

 _"You do not understand the depth of your relationship with the league,_ grdromfk _"_

 _I gave him a strange look at the sound he finished the sentence with. It was a strange mix of syllables that I was sure I couldn't mimic because I didn't have the vocal capability to, and the click at the end seemed to come deep within his chest. The way he said it was sad, bitter, and almost mournful._

 _"What … was that?" I asked._

 _"It is a word in my mother language." He said, blinking at me. "It's meaning is similar to sister or child in your language, but the meaning is deeper. It is used when speaking of kin, close family. It has a sense of ownership attached to it. For me, and for the league, you are a precious friend. To some, you are more and others you are less. Either way, do not underestimate how deep your ties are with us because it is insulting for you to assume otherwise."_

 _Well… that was unexpected. Supers apparently didn't get to make a lot of outside connections with people because of their work load or because they didn't come into close contact with regular people long enough to establish that connection. They apparently had some sort of friendship complex because latching onto the girl that does your coffee is_ not _normal at all, not to mention incredibly unhealthy._

 _"So what do you propose I do about it?" I asked, folding my hands. The Martian was irritated with me, and most likely insulted. He looked tense under the surface of his green skin, the muscles in his face taught in an effort to school his features and show little to no emotion: a business-like tactic._

 _"You will be extremely careful." He said with all seriousness. "And if you have not been in contact with a league member within three weeks, you will call and check in."_

 _"With what, pray tell?" I asked, taking a sip._

 _He pulled something off his belt and handed it to me. It looked like a regular flip phone, and opening it, I saw a generic blue screen with the time and date. There was no manufacturer name on the device at all, leading me to believe the creator didn't want to associate themselves with the league or they were in the league._

 _"That is a satellite phone. The only number is one that will connect you straight to HQ." he said, sipping his own mug of coffee for the first time now. "The league asks that you keep the phone on your person at all times. That is the only ultimatum."_

 _I looked at it for a few more seconds before giving the Martian a deadpan look._

 _"This is a flip phone." I stated._

 _"Satellite phone." He corrected._

 _"This tiny thing is a satellite phone?" I said with disbelief._

 _"I would ask you to try it, but that is only for emergencies." He stated before standing to leave. "Keep it on you, Erin. That is all I ask."_

 _I looked at him with a sour face before nodding. I'd keep the stupid phone on me and call in if I hadn't seen anyone in a while. If that was all it took to keep them happy, I'd gladly make the sacrifice._

It is now safe to assume that my going to Gotham was not going to fly well with whoever came in that night. The Martian hadn't seen me since our conversation, and I understood why. He left on a sour note, and I didn't make it any better with the way I acted. The problem was, I wasn't going to use the emergency satellite phone (Which I am still sure is actually a flip phone and _not_ satellite) to call him up to apologize. It was an emergency phone for Christ's sake.

The bell to the shop door jingled and I felt my heart seize in panic. I sent a silent prayer before leaving the bathroom to see who the customer was, only to find out that god hates me and sent me Superman. I forced on a smile before greeting the hero.

"Hey, the usual?" I asked before handing him the remote for the TV.

"Of course. Here is the list." He said with that disarming smile, trading the remote for a slip of paper. I got to work on the drinks, though my agitation must've been too apparent. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah." I said sheepishly, nodding at him from behind the counter. "Why do you ask?"

"You seem ready to jump out of your skin." He deadpanned, and I saw the look behind his eyes. He was analyzing my every move; be it out of concern or distrust, I couldn't pinpoint the motive behind it. "Are you _sure_ you're alright. What's your safe word?"

"I still want to discuss the term 'safe word'." I sighed. "It makes me think too much about _Fifty Shades of Slate._ "

"Erin." Superman pressed, avoiding the topic entirely.

"Fine." I groaned. "Macchiato."

"Alright then." He nodded, though he still seemed concerned. There was a beat of silence before I figured that popping the question now would be better than any other time.

"There is one thing I wanted to talk about." I said sheepishly, garnering Superman's attention. As soon as his eyes looked up at me in both earnest and concern, I felt my anxiety rise to my throat. Instead of facing him head on, I turned to work on the drinks while I broke the news. Call me a coward, but that man's opinion of what I was going to do meant a lot. "I'm going to be in Gotham for a while."

"Oh?" he asked seriously, the tone in his voice taking a lilt to it that I couldn't discern just yet. "Why's that?"

"Well, I was approached by my benefactor from a couple months ago." I said, putting the lids on some cups. "I was offered the chance to expand and the terms were too good to pass up. I'll be opening another shop down there."

"And just who approached you about this?" He asked, and the fake calm was evident in his voice.

"Bruce Wayne." I answered seriously. "He's a nice guy, offered me anything I needed so long as I open up shop in the business district of Gotham."

"Uh huh, nice." Superman reiterated, though his voice was tight and slightly laced with sarcasm. "And what possessed you to agree to move to the most crime ridden city in the world?"

"Money." I answered simply. "It is what keeps me in business, you know."

"Erin…" Superman sighed, and I turned with a tight face to see him staring at me with a serious expression of his own.

"It's a good business move, and it'll get me out of your hair for a while. If I'm not here, there's nothing to target. Or at least, that's how I see it." I shrugged.

"They'll follow you." Superman deadpanned.

"Let them follow." I frowned. "If they want, I'll give them coffee."

"Erin." Superman chastised seriously, almost as if he were scandalized by the thought. "This is not a joking matter."

"Well what do you want me to do?" I asked with frustration, whipping around to look at him. "Cower? Be afraid? Be Serious about it? I can't be serious for an indefinite amount of time, Superman. If humor is my coping mechanism, let me cope."

"Why are you going to Gotham?" He asked, not touching on my comments.

"Because it was a good offer, it's a good business move, and it means some form of variety." I seethed. "Chris is ready to run this shop if he so chooses, or maybe even Chelsea or Tim."

"Gotham is dangerous." He said through clenched teeth.

"So is the alley behind my apartment, but do I still go back there to dump my garbage?" I asked rhetorically. "Yes, yes I do."

"Erin." He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I have my satellite phone and it will be coming with me if that's what you're worried about." I supplied helpfully, earning myself a glare.

"You know that's not what I'm worried about." He said, frowning at me. "But I also know there is no changing your mind."

"Yeah, it's kinda made up since I already signed the contract." I smiled.

"He made you sign a contract?" he asked in an aggressive, disbelieving tone.

"Uh—yeah." I said, raising my eyebrows. "That's kind of how business works."

He looked like he wanted to scream at that comment, and me, so he just put his hand to his face and rested it there. I smiled happily while packing up the drinks and pastries.

It when a lot better than I thought it did, Superman was a lot easier to chastise than the Martian.

"Alright, on the house." I said as I placed the coffee and pastries in front of him. He looked up, fixing me with that icy stare of his.

"You take care of yourself, Erin." He said.

"I will." I nodded.

"No, I'm serious." He pressed. "You look over your shoulder at every opportunity, keep your head on a swivel, and do not hesitate to call us or the cops. I am not having you hurt or worse because of your own obliviousness."

"I am not oblivious." I scoffed.

"You can have a single moment, and that's all anyone needs." He said, grabbing the coffee and pastries. "Remember what I said."

And like that he was off.

Somehow, that was worse than the talk I had with Martian Manhunter.

* * *

"You're moving her to Gotham?" Superman asked as soon as he walked into the monitoring womb, depositing the cups and pastries near haphazardly on the closest surface.

"What do you mean?" Batman asked.

"She's safer in Keystone, and you know that." Superman continued, and the bat sent him a harsh glare.

"She needs to move around, keep them on their toes." The bat said, looking back to his screen. It was only the two of them in the womb for once, though it wouldn't stay that way for long. "She's better off moving between the two cities."

"You shouldn't have done that without letting anyone know." Superman said, making a fist.

"She has her satellite phone, she's not stupid." Batman supplied. "She can handler her own."

"She's never been in any real conflict before." Superman argued.

"She's talked her way out of it plenty of times." Batman argued back.

"She has no way of defending herself."

"She has a gun."

"You don't like guns, you definitely don't agree with them."

"She benefits from it, and this deal gets her out of harm's way."

"And into a city that is completely riddled with crime, or haven't you noticed."

"We can't protect her forever." Batman glared heavily at Superman, practically echoing Erin's own words. "She can't be bubbled wrapped, and she can't live like a fish her entire life. Once we clear this threat, there are boundless more that can happen. That's life, Clark."

"Hey, why didn't anyone say coffee was here?" a loud voice asked as it entered the room. Both of the men turned to look at the owner of the voice. Their glares could burn a hole in his soul if he wasn't careful.

"I'm—uh—just going to take mine and go." Green Arrow said, grabbing the cup with the cursive ' _GA'_ written on it, a muffing, and booking it out of the tense room.

It was going to be a while until Batman and Superman were able to see eye to eye again. Superman was sure that Erin was going to end up in a ditch dead somewhere without a proper watch, thanks to her incessant habit of feeding criminals and getting into trouble. Batman was just as worried, but had far more belief in her capabilities that the meta-human did. They spent a good hour or so arguing back and forth, going from petty to downright snappish with their words. No league member dared to enter the womb, other than Martian Manhunter.

"What are you two arguing about?" He asked.

"Erin's moving to Gotham." Superman Seethed. "And Bruce is enabling her."

"She should be allowed to do as she pleases." Batman argued back. "And it's also for her own safety."

"Her own _safety?"_ Superman laughed humorlessly. "She's far more likely to get mugged as soon as she steps off the train, forget even making it to whatever hotel you have lined up."

The Martian turned on his heel and stalked in the direction of the zeta-tubes.

"Where are you going?" Batman asked, a single eyebrow raised.

"To speak with Erin." He said seriously, and he disappeared within the next few seconds. He was obviously not happy about this development.

The argument continued after that, and it made the entire league come to a consensus. Batman and Superman may be the best combination for teamwork, leadership, and plenty of other things, but they fight like the oldest married couple ever seen.

* * *

 **Late, yes I know. Still not appreciating the single word reviews that just say 'update'. Some people apparently don't read Author's notes. I'll moderate the reviews again to make sure that the number actually reflects what the story is getting and isn't fluffing them.**

 **I'm going to say it. I don't know when I'll update next. It could be one month, two, or even six.**

 **This story will be undergoing editing until the next update, fixing grammar, spelling, plot holes, and any sort of OOCness that I come across. I'll probably add a few details here and there for future plot purposed, but not much else will change.**

 **I hope you enjoyed.**

 **RAW 3/26/17**


	10. Chapter 10

Martian Manhunter was not happy with me, I deduced. Within the first few seconds of him walking into my shop that night, I could tell he was tense and angry through the way his steps seemed even more filled with purpose than they usually were.

It was safe to say that we didn't end that conversation on good terms. Mainly because it ended with me yelling, and him trying to get me to see the error of my ways and how stupid I was being. I don't like thinking about it. I didn't even tell Chris about it at first.

It reminds me too much of the last conversation I had with my sister.

Even a week after our fight, I was still hung up about it. It was painful to think of the words we flung in each other's faces. Almost like reopening an old wound, I could feel a familiar sting whenever I thought back to it.

Looking into a mug of cold coffee, frowning at the murkiness of the dark liquid, I sighed as I sat at one of the couches in the shop. Wally was supposed to be meeting with me soon, and I wanted to be the first one to let him know about the move. Hopefully no one I already told had gotten to him first, namely the cops from the station he works at.

They were all sweethearts, especially when they ragged on Wally deliberately when they all came in together. The redhead never took any offense, instead agreeing with every work they jokingly said right back.

I smiled a little thinking about him.

The bell above the door rang, and I looked up to see him. His red hair and almost mega-watt smile was a sight for sore eyes. However, his own eyes looked like they held a little… apprehension? And his smile, usually bright, seemed forced.

"Walls?" I asked Standing from the chair.

"Hey Erin." He said back, pulling me into a hug as he got close. I hugged him back, unsure as to why he felt the need to hug me. Unless… "I heard about the move."

"Fucking shit." I muttered as I pulled away, rubbing at my forehead. "I was going to tell you today, I swear, and I wanted to tell you myself but someone else did and I'm sorry, oh my god, I completely understand if you're mad or upset because, you know, communication is key in a relationship, but I'm shit at communication and—,"

"Erin."

"—I honestly don't understand the fundamentals of an actual working relationship, I've only seriously dated three guys, and this whole thing happened so fast, I don't even know why it all happened so fast, but I promise it's only been a week and a half since it happened, and I haven't seen you since our last date, and I honestly didn't know how to tell you and—,"

"Erin, its fine."

"—I never knew coffee could get so popular, like holy shit, and then _the_ Bruce Wayne wants me to set up shop and support the business in Gotham because the chief of police was like, damn that's some nice coffee, paraphrased of course because I wasn't at the actual conversation, and then I did good business and we saw a lot of growth, and then Wayne was all like, damn I could make some money off this, or something like that, I don't know what goes through that man's brain, I assume global domination but that's totally his business, which by the way, did you know he's a multi billionaire, holy shit I'm in business with a multi billionaire and—,"

"I'm not mad at you."

"—I bet his taxes are through the, wait what?"

At that point, my word vomit had stopped due to pure shock. And the need to breathe.

The redhead, who almost started a fight with a man who could wipe the floor with his as, and serve it cold on a frozen platter, got onto me about doing anything remotely dangerous, and couldn't live without touching me in some fashion while we were in the same room, was _not mad at me._

Even now, as his hand was placed over my shoulder and his thumb was rubbing a soothing circle into my back, he was telling me he was fine with me going away.

"I'm not mad at you." He repeated. "You're doing good business. And Bruce Wayne probably offered you an amazing deal you would be stupid not to take. It's probably really hectic up here too, trying to get everything ready to move and stay stable, hiring new people."

A beat of silence passed between us, only due to my shock. I blinked in a daze, only then realizing he was looking for me to let him know I was still a part of the conversation.

"Yeah."

Brilliant reply, I must say. Go me.

"So, that leaves our next move to mull over." He said, trailing his hand down my arm to meet with mine and tugging so I would sit down with him at the nearest couch. As I sunk into the comfy, brown, plush cushions, Wally pulled me into his side and tucked me there, watching the front of the store.

I had the sign on the door flipped to closed, a rare occurrence, but I was meeting with Wally, so it couldn't be helped.

"Do you want to do long distance?" He asked softly, playing with my hand in his.

"Is that a trick question?" I asked back, smiling ruefully. "I was gonna ask you that."

"I want to try to make this work." He said, and I could feel his smiled where he rested his chin against my head. "All I need is your permission."

"Yeah. Okay." I nodded, burrowing into his side. We had been dating for roughly two months, but it felt special. It felt like more than any of my other relationships, even the more long term ones.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" He asked softly. I snorted.

"We've seen everything worth seeing that's out right now." I reminded him.

"Then we see something that isn't in theatres, miss movie snob." Wally joked. I glared at him, only to feel a soft realization come across my face.

"Why don't we go to my apartment? My movie collection is impressive." I said, brimming with excitement.

"I remember." Wally said, poking me on my side. I jerked roughly, glaring at him. He knew I was sensitive on my ribcage and he still liked to taser me from time to time. "How about I cook as well. We can make it a date."

"You cook?" I asked incredulously.

"Of course." He snorted. "I would starve otherwise."

"I pegged you for a fast food kind of guy." I said, furrowing my eyebrows.

"And by cook, I meant order Chinese food."

"Oh my god."

"Just think about it. A candlelit dinner, stars in the night sky, the fireplace crackling, and the scent of fried rice in the air."

"I'm not allowed candles in my apartment, we live in a city, I don't have a fireplace, and I'm making hamburgers." I shot back, standing up. "And just for assuming that, you get to come grocery shopping with me."

"Ah, romancing over the aisles, hm?" He winked. "How'd you know I have a thing for grocery shopping?"

I rolled my eyes as he stood up, holding out his arm to me. I smiled, feeling something in my chest lighten at the familiar sight. Placing my hand in the crook of his elbow, we moved out of the shop and down the street.

* * *

"I am never going grocery shopping with you again." I said as I walked into my apartment, arms laden with bags of food.

"Don't lie, you loved it." Wally Grinned as he walked in, his arms even more covered with grocery bags than mine. We piled them in the kitchen, and I watched as he set to work opening bags and laying out the ingredients as well as setting aside things that I had bought for the rest of the week.

"Everyone knew who you were." I frowned, rubbing my eyes. "And they all wanted to stop and chat."

"What's wrong with that?" He smiled mock innocently.

"We were in there for three hours!" I cried with frustration.

"Just more time you got to spend with me." His smile never faltered.

I groaned as I walked into the kitchen and started shoving the left over groceries into their rightful cabinets before stealing the beef from the redhead. He grinned as I assumed my position over the kitchen, taking a seat at the small island counter.

"So, tell me something since I'm so curious." He started.

"What do you want to know?" I asked, throwing a few special spices onto the beef and then mixing it in with my hands.

"How did you get started serving coffee to Mr. Freeze?" He asked. I glanced up at him, searching for any sort of malice but his tone just seemed… curious and conversational. A far cry from the usual tense shoulders and avoidance of the topic. It was out of the ordinary, but not unwelcome.

"He was in Keystone City for some sort of big heist. I don't ask for details or anything when he comes in, I'd rather not know. Anyway, he tried to set my shop up as a hideout. I was working on about two hours of sleep, so I wasn't thinking straight, and I suppose he found my bluntness interesting.

"Three weeks later he was back in town and stopped by, demanding something from me. He didn't get far with his demands when I hit him over the head with a boiling hot pot of coffee. Somehow, I cracked the glass on his spacesuit helm thingy, so a lot of the hot coffee seeped through the cracks and got on him. I felt really bad about it though, because you should have seen the burn marks on him. I ended up making him a frappe the next time he came in as an apology. He's been a loyal customer ever since."

Wally nodded along with the story, as if he were understanding and taking all of it in. He didn't interrupt me at all, which was a little surprising considering how hot headed he got whenever we discussed the topic of me serving villains.

It was one of our main arguments.

"Why the interest?" I asked suddenly, starting on making the patties. "You never wanted to talk about this before."

"I wanted to know before you went to Gotham." He said, smiling tightly at me. "If you pull the same stunts there as you did here, you'll be the most protected coffee shop in the world."

"I don't necessarily plan on running into villains, thank you." I rolled my eyes, turning to the portable grill I had pulled out. "And have you picked out a movie yet?"

"Yeah, but I thought I'd wait for you." He said, blinking innocently at me.

"Oh, what a gentleman." I said, fake swooning.

That was the last time we spoke about my villain clientele before I left. Wally kept acting weird, almost sentimental and calm. It wasn't like out other dates we had, when he would be all over the place, excitable, and a complete dork. Maybe it had something to do with the domestic environment, but it wasn't an unwelcome change. More like unexpected.

He threw me off balance, and I decided I liked being surprised every once in a while.

"How many patties do you want?" I asked.

"Five." He answered. I turned to raise an eyebrow at him in question. "What, I like to eat."

"Like a starving bear?" I asked.

"I like to think I'm more of a lion."

I snickered at the thought, imagining the redhead like one of the characters from that kids movie, _The Lion Queen._ He fit the image really well, if I do say so myself, but I'm biased anyway.

"You don't believe me." He said.

"You're right. I don't think you can finish five full hamburgers." I nodded, though I put them on to grill.

"Alright, let's make a bet." He said, crossing his arms in challenge. "I eat all five patties, you let me drive you to the airport when you leave. I don't, you get to pick our next date."

"It sounds like a lose lose situation to me, but all right." I grinned wickedly.

We shot sarcastic remarks back and forth as I finished grilling the patties and dressing the burgers. Wally's was built to the nines, each and every one topped with lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, bacon, cheese, and even some avocado he asked for. I made myself a simple cheese burger with lettuce and tomato.

I brought over our plates, his piled with his request, and mine actually proportional. We fell back onto the couch as Wally picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

He put on _Pirates of Port Royale_ for us, and we set to dining and watching as Captain Jack Swallow outwitted his adversaries with complete nuttiness. However, once I had finished my hamburger and the Captain was once again setting sail, I felt completely drowsy. I put my plate on the coffee table before leaning on him and watching the movie, fighting not to drift off. However, Wally just had to pull the blanket off the back of the couch and throw it over me.

I was out like a light in seconds.

* * *

About a month passed with Chris and I trying to hire a good manager, several new employees, getting them trained up, and also making sure I was in the shop to take care of the league when they stopped by.

At this point, only Wonder Woman came to visit me. It was strange, I thought, that I wasn't seeing anyone else. Even flash had stopped coming by, as well as Robin and Nightwing. The absence of some people who I had considered friends was... I didn't know how to describe it.

I could go on with my day and work around with a smile, although it was tired most of the time. I could hold conversations and nothing was necessarily wrong, but it was off. I was missing something. Almost like a few pieces of who I was had been misplaced.

Every time Wonder Woman stopped in, she was kind and we really got to talking about politics, the shop, my move, and even some of her personal problems. We had both come to the conclusion that men were dense and needed things spelled out to them really well before they got even an inkling of an idea that a woman was interested.

However, I always had to restrain myself from asking what I wanted to ask.

 _How is Superman? His stress isn't too high with that conference with the Galadorians is it?_

 _Is Flash keeping up with his diet? I see him on TV now and then, but not long enough to see if he's lost any weight._

 _Is Martian Manhunter still angry with me? I don't know how to get in contact with him._

 _Do you know Nightwing or Robin? Could you get a message to one of them for me?_

All of these things were too intrusive. The supers liked their privacy or they would have let everyone know that they had a flying space shuttle as an HQ and started tours. However, I was privy to that information because Martian Manhunter decided to let me know exactly how my satellite phone worked and why it needed to work that way.

I sighed heavily, rubbing my eyes.

"What's wrong?" A calm voice asked. Wally was in the driver's seat, looking at me in concern. "Not getting cold feet, are you?"

"No, just thinking about my customers." I sighed, rubbing my eyes.

We were on our way to the airport. Since Wally won our bet from a month ago, although I still had no idea how he did it, he and I were strapped into an old Camry that held together by tape and prayers. It was charming if you really thought about it.

"Any idea where you're going to be setting up shop?" He asked.

"Yeah, we're going to be smack dab in the middle of Gotham's business district, not two blocks away from Wayne Enterprises." I said, excitement overriding my mind and pushing thoughts of the league to the back of my mind. "Chris and I get to oversee design, shipments, and we get to do the hiring and train the newbies before the shop officially opens up."

"You didn't do that the first time?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. I felt heat rise to my cheeks in embarrassment.

"No, twenty year old me was hella dumb, so I opened with only three people and got overrun." I said, sheepishly. "Not my brightest idea, so now we're going to do it right. Especially since we have to do seven reports to Wayne Foods before we even get the okay to start running business."

Wally nodded, although his eyes seemed a little distant. The ride was silent after that, Wally preferring to turn on the radio. A song about separation started playing. Wally turned the channel. Another song about lost love. Wally kept changing channels, but it seemed that every station on his radio decided they wanted to be depressed today, like us.

After five more channels, Wally just turned the radio off with a sigh. He gave me a smile that said ' _what can you do?'_ before turning his eyes to the road again.

We pulled into the airport departures area in no time, Wally parking and hopping out to grab my luggage. It was like a drop off situation, since Wally had to get back to work after he left me, so we didn't have much time left. He pulled my large suitcase from the back of the car, setting it gently on the ground before shutting the trunk.

I stared at him passively, just watching as he did so. It was so mundane, but I didn't really register that as I saw how beautiful he really was. I know that guys aren't traditionally categorized as beautiful, but in that moment—as the sun's light was turning his hair color vibrant, highlighting his slightly tanned, somehow unblemished skin, as his green eyes set themselves apart completely once they turned to me, as his sad smile reached his eyes—he was beautiful.

His smile dropped suddenly as he registered me.

"Erin?" He asked, coming to meet me where I was. I reached up to touch my cheek, only vaguely aware that I was crying. "Erin, c'mon. Nothing to be sad about, we'll see each other in no time."

"Sorry." I choked, rubbing my eyes quickly. "It just hit me how much I'm going to miss you."

Wally blinked, as if he were realizing something, before pulling me into a hug that I wasn't aware I needed. I wrapped my arms around him, afraid to let go in the realization that I wouldn't be able to hug him again for a long time coming. I wouldn't even be visiting keystone until I knew the new shop would be able to hold itself up without me.

"Call me as soon as you land, alright?" He asked, although it was more like a demand.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"And video call when you get to the apartment."

"Yeah."

"And make sure Chris knows to get three rooms, not just two."

"Yeah."

A few more seconds passed before we pulled away. Wally placed a hand on my cheek before leaning down and placing a kiss on my forehead, and then a chaste kiss on my lips.

"See you soon?" He asked softly.

"As soon as possible." I nodded.

I watched him get into his car and leave before turning around and getting through security. Getting checked in through the gate, finding my terminal, and ending up with a half-eaten sandwich in my hands all became a blur. Maybe it was because I was just too daze from figuring out I would actually miss my stupid redheaded boyfriend more than I actually anticipated.

"Are we ready to fly?!" A cheerful, familiar voice cried, making me look up. I saw Chris coming towards me, hair pulled back into a mun, bear nicely trimmed down, and smile vibrant until he saw my face. "What's wrong?"

A few seconds of silence passed by before I answered.

"I miss him."

It was still a bit of a shock.

"Oh honey." Chris said, instantly dropping into the chair next to me and grabbing my hand. "A little bit startled?"

"More than a little." I said, looking down at my sandwich. "I didn't think it would hurt this much. I'm going to call him and video him when we get there. Why am I so..."

"Distraught?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow. "You two spent a lot of time together. If you weren't at the shop, you were at Wally's apartment or he was at yours, or you were out on a date. You two were like that since you started dating."

"It doesn't feel like that." I frowned. "I feel like I spent more time at the shop than with him."

"You used to pull quadruple shifts." Chris said with a smug smile. "When was the last time you even pulled a triple?"

"Oh." I said, thinking back to a time when I did indeed work two days in a row consistently before going home and sleeping for a shift only to come back and do it all again.

And then I met Wally.

"Yeah, oh." Chris repeated.

' _Now boarding flight 27A to Gotham City.'_ The PA announced, making both Chris and I look up. _'Now calling first class passegers.'_

"That's us. How nice of Mr. Wayne to get us these tickets." Chris grinned, pulling on my hand. "Come one, we'll talk more about it on the plane ride over there. At least you finally realized how much you like the guy."

"Okay." I nodded, letting him pull me up and leading me to board.

Once Chris and I had gotten into the plane, we pulled up the armrest between us and bundled up in the blanket Chris had brought, ready to fly for the next three hours. As we both watched a move and talked about what was to come.

* * *

Flash was anxious to say the least. On edge, in fact. He was leaning over the computers in his seat at the monitoring womb, fingers quickly tapping on the smooth mettle, leg bouncing in anticipation.

His thoughts weren't focused on the screens. Instead, they were focused on the crying face of his girlfriend. Or, Wally West's girlfriend.

The chair next to him was pulled back. He paid no mind as a figure sat down and face him, wating a few seconds before opening their mouths.

"What's wrong?" Came the strong question. Flash looked over to see Shiera staring at him, elbows resting on her knees and chin resting on her hands. "You haven't stopped tapping since you sat down. I checked."

"It's Erin." He sighed, putting a hand over his eyes.

"She should have landed an hour ago." Shiera said. "Hasn't she called you?"

The entirety of the watchtower was up to date about Erin's whereabouts and how she was doing. New like that, about someone's personal relationships, traveled fast.

"Her flight's being delayed for another two hours." He said, frowning. "There's a big storm over Gotham, courtesy of Mr. Freeze. He's trying something big again, but Bats has already got it handled. She should be good to land in thirty minutes."

"Alright, so if that's not bothering you, what is?"

"She was crying." He said. "I didn't think about it, since I get to see her whenever I want. But she doesn't know that. She gets to see Flash, not Wally. And she was upset because of that. I forgot that she doesn't know who I am."

Shiera breathed in deeply. She knew how to handle Flash when he was on missions, when he was his happy go-lucky self, when he was his usual over confident self, and even now when he was beating himself up over something he couldn't control.

"Do you feel comfortable telling her your real job?" She asked.

"She would kill me." Wally said, rubbing his chin.

"Then there's nothing you can do about it." She shrugged. "You knew what you were getting into when you started this relationship."

"But I never thought that my secret would hurt her like this." He said.

"You can't do a thing about it until you're ready to tell her the whole truth." Shiera said. "I'm sorry it's like this Flash, but there's nothing you can do for the time being."

"I know." He sighed, leaning down to cross his arms where he had previously been tapping. "And that's whats so frustrating about it."

Shiera stood up, putting a smile on her face as she clapped him on the shoulder.

"Cheer up." She said with a grin. "At least this means you'll get to do the coffee runs again."

With that, she walked off with almost a bounce in her step. She had to go let Superman know that she'd won the small pot this time around, and everyone was going to pay up big time. This whole betting pool this was such a great Idea, she thought as she quickly made her way towards the man.

"Hey book keeper, he's feeling guilty." She said as she approached the red and blue clad hero at the observation deck. "The small pot is mine."

"What? Already?" He asked. "Everyone else bet at least a few months later."

"Ask him yourself, he's in the monitoring womb." She grinned. "Just write in my win, I'll collect later."

"I'll put it in the books." He sighed.

Honestly, how he even get saddled with being the book keeper in the first place, he would never know.

* * *

 **And here is the filler chapter I needed before I got to Gotham and what goes down there. I had this whole plan laid out, but I didn't know how to get from point A to Point B, so it was slow going until I put together something at least a little bit coherent.**

 **I'll most likely be going back and editing this chapter later once I find out my errors and all the things I don't like about it.**

 **As of right now, I'm looking for a beta reader who's interested in this project. It's for character development, OOC ness, grammar, and to help fill in plot holes I keep missing. Until I find that person, my work will most likely remain the mishmash of what it is right now as I slowly go through my past chapters.**

 **Just to let you know what I've been up to, lately I've been working on a couple other projects on my laptop that have taken my interest. Mainly for FFVII, Magi, Harry potter, Yuri on Ice, and some other fandoms. I won't be posting them for a while yet, but they're all a ways in the planning phase, then a few into the actual writing phase. Please forgive my absence, I finally graduated and things are looking up!**

 **Anyway, thank you for all the support, the reviews, and for the blessed lack of the single 'update'. I love you guys. As always, please enjoy and I'll see you in the next update.**


	11. Chapter 11

Gotham was just as interesting as I remembered it. After finally hopping off the plane and making our way out of the airport once we had our luggage, Chris and I marveled at how beautiful the city's architecture was, versus the gruffness of the crowd that populated it's streets.

It was a very gothic, each building built with dark grey stone that would be almost black come nightfall, tall buildings with arch-like sides that vaguely reminded me of the Adams family home. It was very much a villain's wet dream to conquer a city like that. They wouldn't even have to do any extra demoing or rebuilding to get the sinister feel.

Chris looped his arm through mine as we walked through the city with stupid grins on our faces. He had whipped out his camera, starting a short video explaining our flight and how we were feeling about our new Gotham adventure.

"And there she is, the one and only Erin Grey." He said, pointing the lens at me. I waved tiredly at him. "How are you feeling about our chances of survival?"

"Eh." I shrugged. "Like, we have an eighty percent chance of being mugged, but maybe a thirty percent chance of death? I'm pretty sure that's the statistics right now. Getting shot is, like, twelve percent."

"Sounds like good odds to me." Chris said, turning the camera back to him and winking at it. "So, our apartment is going to be in china town, about five minutes away from the new shop by subway. Wayne offered to pay for us to be closer but we were like, nah fam."

"I didn't want to rely on him for my rent, thank you very much." I frowned. "Nothing against the man, but I don't need my unofficial boss to also be my landlord."

"Right-o." Chris nodded. "So we're headed to the apartment first to finalize everything, then we're headed to Wayne Enterprises main building to sketch out the shop's specs, then work over all the imported goods and other small details Erin's going to deal with."

"Who are you sending this to anyway?" I asked, hauling the suitcase up over the street curb I had run it off of by accident. A dreamy look passed over his face before he tried to cover it up.

"My parents." He said, offering a sly smile.

"Liar." I snorted. "Anyway, you sure you're good to go over the interior design with their staff? Got all your notes?"

"Packed away with all our luggage we shipped to the apartment." He nodded. "Oh, shouldn't you call Wally?"

"I already tried, but it went straight to voicemail." I shrugged, though a little nagging feeling started eating away at my stomach. "I'll try and call again once we get to the apartment."

Gotham was like a jungle, wild but interesting. Chris and I stuck out like two sore thumbs, mostly because we were strolling about with suitcases and tired smiles on our faces, but also because it was like the people of Gotham had a different air about them. They were more wary, less approachable. Waiting for something.

It wasn't a far walk from the airport to where we would be in china town, so we decided to book it there and quickly get ready for our meetings. Thirty minutes of walking and vlogging and general bickering at each other, we finally made it to our new apartment complex.

The place was fairly small, only a few stories high, and very unassuming. Chris and I smiled at each other before entering the lobby of the small complex. It was homely looking, the carpet and walls covered in an oriental wallpaper, trinkets lining shelves and some paintings and tapestries hung in a tasteful fashion. Behind the counter was an old man, hair grey and skin leathery looking. He seemed to be reading a book when Chris and I interrupted him.

"Hi, I'm Erin grey and this is Christopher Lowland. Were the new tenants." I said with the most cheery smile I could muster. The man stared at us for a few seconds, expression unchanging as he basically examined our souls before he shut his book slowly and pulled open his drawer. Chris and I shared a look as the man handed me two keys.

"Room forty-seven." He said, his accent thick. "No pet, no noise. Trash every Thursday, poker every Sunday."

And like that, he picked his book back up and started reading again. Chris and I, once again, shared a look before grabbing our things and hightailing it up the stairs. We had to do a little searching for our room, which was on the fourth floor.

Once we got inside, however, we were both excited beyond words. Inside, boxes upon boxes were pressed against walls and in ours. Chris and I both traversed the apartment, grinning stupidly at how cool it was.

We entered on the 'bottom floor' which was an entryway with a cabinet to the side, supposedly for our shoes, and space to hide small necessities like a vacuum and other cleaning supplies if we wanted to. Then, you stepped up into the 'main floor' which was out living room and kitchen, separated only by a small island. The floors were a light wood, running all through that section of the house. The far wall featured two small windows, and both Chris and I rushed past the boxes to look out of them, only to find that we faced another building.

On that same floor, a hallway branched off with three doors. Two of them led to small, functional bedrooms, although with no closets, and the other lead to our full bath. Luckily it was large enough for two sinks and had enough cabinet storage to store all of our necessities.

Then there was the loft that both of us had deemed the dining area, looking out over the entryway and the living room, the steps hardwood to match the floors, but the railing black iron. The movers were kind enough to move our labeled boxes to their correct places, bar the bedroom ones which were left in front of the hallway.

"Erin, this is beautiful!" Chris said, practically beaming. "I mean, bar the no closet space, look at how awesome the apartment is!"

"I know, and we even have an eating loft!" I enthused with him, moving to the suitcase. "By the way, which room do you want?"

"The one with a window." He said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh good, then I'm able to be a mole and not have to worry about sunlight waking me up." I said with a mock sigh of relief as I pulled out my cellphone. "I'm gonna try Wally again."

Walking into the kitchen and watching Chris move his suitcase into his room, I waited on Wally to pick up his phone. It rang for a bit, setting my nerves on edge, until he picked up sounding almost breathless.

"Hey beautiful!" he greeted cheerily, though I thought he sounded a little winded. "Sorry I missed your call earlier. They, uh, called me into the station."

"No problem, handsome." I said, smiling almost stupidly. "I was just calling to let you know we made it to the apartment unscathed."

"Really? That's great!" He said, and I could hear some rustling on the other end of the line. "Give me a second, some of the guys are giving me a hard time."

I heard him say something unintelligible to the background, earning him a few laughs before he got back to me.

"Sorry, I moved into the next room." He said. "How was your flight? I saw you got delayed."

"Oh, it was honestly fine." I shrugged. "We got a complimentary meal, Chris and I had a _How I met your Father_ marathon, the kids that kicked our seat left us alone after thirty minutes. We were pretty pissed at Mister Freeze after we found out, but I'm sure he's learned his lesson now that he's back in Arkham."

There was a beat of silence on the other end.

"Or he'll break out in a month." I corrected.

"Yeah, much more likely." He agreed. "Alright, I have to get back to the job. My boss is giving me the stink eye, although you know he adores you."

There was some muffled grumbling over the line.

"Tell Detective Brighton I said hi, alright?" I smiled.

"Will do." He said, though in the middle of his words, something that sounded like an emergency siren went off.

"Wally, is everything alright?" I asked, brows furrowed.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He said, though he sounded a little panicked now.

"You sure?"

"Positi— _yeah, I'm on my way, give me a minute!_ " Wally said into the background. "Listen Erin, I really have to go now. Emergency meeting, you know. I'll call you tonight, love you, bye!"

"Wait what?"

And like that, the line was dead.

"That little fucker did not just say he loved me and hung up before I could say it back." I frowned, snapping the phone shut just as I heard Chris laugh. I turned, finding him seated on a box, wearing a nice pair of black slacks, a light blue button down with silver cufflinks, black loafers, and a pair of small silver studs in his ears. His hair was gelled back expertly and he was, for once, clean shaven. In his hand was a black suit jacket and a pair of gloves due to the chilly weather outside.

"You need to get dressed, love." Chris snickered. I threw him a nasty look due to his teasing, although a blush still rose to my cheeks. "Seriously, we have an hour. Get moving."

I frowned but grabbed my luggage anyway and move to my room. It was a modest square room with light beige walls that complimented the nice hardwood floor. I popped open my hanging bag and grabbed my pantsuit, red button down and black heels. It was a race to throw everything on before moving into the bathroom, leading me to practically hop into the room while buttoning my pants and carrying both my heels and makeup bag.

There, I already saw Chris's sink covered with all his necessities. I spared one glance to the counter of mine before dumping all my products out into the sink to get started. My face was, blessedly, put on in only ten minutes. Then, I looked at my hair and sighed. I wouldn't be able to get away with leaving it down. Opting to go for a more mature look, I smoothed out my wild mane as best I could before I pulled it into a messy French twist; the mess being completely on accident since I couldn't put my hair into anything seemingly flawless if my life depended on it.

With that accomplished, I made my way back to Chris who—bless him—had opened out box labeled 'winter coats' and fished out my gloves large, faux-fur lined jacket to give me before we braved the cold.

He let my put my heels, gloves, and jacket on before he handed me my briefcase that enclosed all of the documents needed to start onto the new shop. I gave him an admiring look.

"Where have you been all my life?" I asked with a stupid smile. Chris rolled his eyes before motioning to the door.

"I'm your wife, don't you recognize me?" He asked as he ushered me out. "We've been married for three years now."

"Wow, really? I must've hit the jackpot." I snickered. We walked down to the lobby, Chris checking his watch before waving kindly at the old man at the desk. The man didn't spare us a glance, only flipping a page in his book as we moved on.

From there, we made our way to the subway and onto a train in record time. Nobody even tried to mug us, which was the kicker. Sure, we had a few guys who looked us up and down, but no movements were made in our general direction. The subway itself was a new sort of territory all together. There, all walks of life, no matter what their station, were huddled together on the same bit of transportation. It was very… interesting to see businessmen, students, and even the homeless mind each other in such a close environment.

"This is our stop." Chris said to me, looping his arm through mine before moving us out towards the business district. Above ground, in this district at least, was my favorite part of the city. The architecture, the people, and the overall feeling—the exhilaration of a bustling metropolis, crime capital or not, was all the rush I needed.

It was no hard feat to find Wayne Industries' main building since it was the tallest one in Gotham, but Chris and I did stop and stare up at it like tourists. Even though I had already been there once, seeing it again hit me as much as it did the first time.

The lobby was impeccably clean when we entered, all high-class with marble floors, pillars, and nice succulents for decoration. The receptionist was a different one than before, typing away at his computer when we walked up to him with cheesy, excited smiles, though Chris's turned a bit lecherous when he moved close enough to discern the man's looks.

"Hello, I'm Erin Grey and this is Christopher Lowland. We have an appointment today." I said. The man glanced up at us before asking for our IDs, to which we handed them over readily. The man nodded at the authentication before handing them back. Once he did so, he pulled open his desk drawer and then pulled two cards out, handing them to each of us respectively. At both of our surprised looks, he explained while moving back to his work.

"Your Company IDs." He said. "I know you're partners, but you should have access to the building when you need to be here. There's no reason for you two to go through me if you're going to work this closely with the company."

"Ah." I nodded, pocketing mine. "Thank you very much. Can you inform us of the floor and room we'll be having our meetings?"

The man nodded, moving to pull something back up on his computer.

"Miss Grey, your appointment will be with financial on floor thirty-eight. Mister Lowland will be with the contractors and interior designers affiliated with us on floor seventy-three. Both will be in room twelve."

"Thank you, have a wonderful day." Chris said with a devilish smile in the man's direction, though I'm sure he didn't notice. The man's eyes were glued to the screen once again, tuning us out now that our business was done. I pulled Chris towards the elevator in an attempt to get him away from the receptionist.

"Don't even think about it." I warned him quietly. "Don't mix passion with work, you understand me."

"Aw, come on, you know that guy's a dream beau!" Chris grinned stupidly. "All chocolate skin, black hair and perfect brown eyes. What more could I ask for?"

"He looked like he could care less about you." I observed.

"Ah, the stoic type." Chris sighed sweetly just as the elevator opened to my floor.

"Don't get into trouble." I said to him.

"You either, love." Chris called, making me flip him off. As the doors close, Chris was laughing at me. That's definitely the confidence booster I needed before going into the meeting.

As I came upon room twelve, I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. Then, I pushed the door open, only to be met with probably the worst sight possible.

"Hello Ms. Grey, how wonderful to see you again." Lawrence Tell greeted from his seat in the meeting room that, obviously, only belonged to the two of us. I felt my eye twitch at the irony of it all, knowing I would have to face the man at some point since he was high up on the board of Wayne Foods, but I had hoped that would be after I set up shop.

"And you as well, Mr. Tell." I greeted with a forced smile of my own.

Tell smirked at my attempt to be polite, obviously aware of my discomfort. He had played this game much longer than I would ever dream to, so hiding something from him in his environment would be stupid. In fact, this whole meeting would probably go south very fast.

"Why don't you take a seat Ms. Grey and then we can discuss our plans." He said, motioning for me to sit. I did so, placing my briefcase against the chair before crossing my legs daintily. "Now there is a matter that I would like to discuss with you about your contract. It is stated that Wayne Industries will suffice a good amount of money for the building, the amenities, and the starting inventory. You see—"

I looked the man up and down, taking in the slicked back, brown hair and impeccable suit. But what really threw me was his snake-like smile and practically dazzling eyes. Like he knew he could trap me and he was contemplating backing me into a proverbial corner just to see me snap. I sighed, leaning onto the desk and propping my head up in my hand. Business politics and such were never really my thing.

"Cut the bullshit, Tell." I said, blinking at him as I cut him off. He looked mildly offended that I cut into his negotiations, though ready to listen. "We both know I don't stand a chance against you smooth talking all of this contract stuff and your loopholes and negotiation nonsense. Tell it to me straight; what you want?"

Then Tell smiled a sickening smile.

"Well, that wouldn't be any fun, now would it?" He said, leaning forward himself and putting his chin in his hand. "Honestly Ms. Grey, I don't want to see you get hurt. You're such a fragile thing, I would rather you go through me than to any other hotshot in this company that would eat you right up."

"What is it you're proposing?" I asked.

"I would love to propose a candlelit dinner in one of our company's finest hotel dining rooms, but I'm sure you want to talk business." Tell smiled as my eyebrow twitched. "Personal matters can wait, I suppose. Now, I would like to see your reports."

I frowned, though I let him dodge the question as I opened my briefcase and handed him the important files I was carrying around. I could only hope that his comments wouldn't get lewder as we went along.

* * *

"How can that man make financials sexual?" I asked Chris, head in my hands. "It wasn't even like, stupid accounting pickup lines. It aws literally a thinly veiled 'lemme smash' proposition."

"At least you weren't in a room with homophobic fucks who don't listen to a word you said or any of your plans. Our couch idea? Nope. We get sticky plastic chairs. Nice wood tables? Nuh-uh, cafeteria grade, fold out coffee tables." Chris frowned. "We still haven't closed negotiations, and they haven't looked at our final idea yet at all."

We had both left our meetings, frustrated and tired, for lunch in the Wayne building café. It was quaint, could use more options, didn't serve good coffee, but it did have a mean panini, to which both Chris and I ordered to eat our feelings.

"Honestly, if they try to change one more thing, I might hurt someone." I frowned. "I don't like being propositioned like some cheap whore."

"I think cheap whores get straight up asked for sex." Chris shrugged. "You're more like a migh-class escort."

"That does not make me feel any better."

Chris and I stared at our food before we looked at each other. I thought over our situation before grinning.

"Wanna switch meetings?"

"I honestly thought you'd never ask."

And like that, I made my way to the seventy-third floor with Chris's briefcase to negotiate my store's layout and décor. Upon entering the office, I could tell that the contractors and interior designers had no plans ot entertain anything we had to say. They already had drawn up plans pinned to the board, ugly as they were, and cheap looking.

"Hello." I greeted with a gleeful smile. "I'm sorry for the confusion, but I'm Erin Grey. Why don't we get down to business?"

The two people in the room, an older man and woman, looked up from their workspaces to see me come in. The man folded his hands on the desk while the woman raised an eyebrow. I walked in and laid Chris's briefcase on the closes table, pulling out the file with our current store's floorplan.

"I don't care for plastic chairs or an overly modern feeling, you see." I continued, handing the floorplan to the contractor. The woman, looked down at the paper, frowning at me. "I'm aware that Wayne foods would like to push forward with that sort of image, but I am afraid I must refuse. My shop was created with the thought of comfort in mind—comfort food, comfort lighting, comfort seating, you name it. The ideas you have put forth do not comply with the initial idea behind my shop. If you cannot comply with these requirements, I am afraid I will have to shut down these 'negotiations' which, ultimately, should not have happened in the first place due to the lettering in my contract."

"Miss Grey, please try to understand." The man said, standing. "We want to create a clean space that is unoffending to the eyes, and will appeal to the businessmen and women in this district. These changes are exactly what people like that look for. It's the modern, sleek look that's in right now, and if we jump onto that bandwagon, we can lock in that demographic."

I blinked at the man as if he were stupid.

"Sir, with all due respect, businessmen are not the only people on these streets." I frowned. "Homeless, service workers, government workers, artists, and much more thrive in this district, not just businessmen. I would rather pander to the more relatable idea of comfort than a high-class, costly concept that only appeals to one or two demographics."

"I like this idea." The woman piped up. "If we could rotate the idea to where the counter is on the left side of the shop, it would be a much easier space to work with."

"Miranda." The man scolded, earning himself a harsh glare from the woman. "You can't just decide which one you like the most without discussing it."

"Oh, I'm sure it's no problem." I smiled as I walked over to the woman. The paper in her hands showed our current layout in the shop, dimensions and all written down haphazardly to the side. "This is actually the layout of our location in Keystone."

"This size is fairly close to what we'll be working with here then." The woman, Miranda, continued. "When it comes to the décor, I'm sure you and Brian can reach an agreement."

"I surley do not think you're suggesting that I—" The man tried to cut in, only earning himself an even harsher glare than before.

"Brian Fore, you spent the last two hours getting nowhere with this woman's manager to the point where she felt the need to speak with us personally. I'm sure you understand the situation that you're in when speaking to a partner of Wayne industries." Miranda scolded before turning back to me. "If you want to make a close replica of your shop in keystone, we can do that. Please send us a detailed idea of the kind of furniture you're looking for, as well as the type of machines you need. We'll start work in three days."

Like that, the woman packed up her own things, nodded to me, and left the room. I could only stare in awe as the man, Brian, exited after her in attempt to talk, to which I could only assume he was met with another cold glare and some harsh words. The idea made me smile as I packed up my own things and texted Chris. He was still in his meeting, telling me to go on home if I wanted to. If anything, I could get a head start on unpacking.

With that idea in mind, I left Wayne enterprises to get back home. When I did make it out of the building, it was already nighttime, to which I cursed. If anything, that's something I didn't want to deal with on my first day. Now my chance of getting mugged was fucktupled, especially since I was alone and, mostly likely, about to get lost. I sighed heavily, debating if I really wanted to walk to the subway alone when I started moving.

I couldn't wait on Chris to walk me home every night, so I might was well take the first step now, I thought as I moved closer to where the subway was. To my surprise, I made it back to china town before I was met with any surprises. I had already exited the subway, walking down a small alley to cut a corner in hopes of getting to my apartment faster, when I heard gunshots.

I froze, able to pinpoint that the shots were relatively close to me and debate if I really wanted to get involved. Should I call someone? The decision was made for me when a man came into the ally, obviously running from the shots, but his head was covered in a red… cowl? Helmet? I couldn't tell due to how dark it was, but he was obviously trying to hide his identity.

"Red Hood!" A familiar voice cried, and then I saw a familiar face swing by to stop the escapee. Nightwing was in hot pursuit of the man, calling him to get his attention. I made a move to get out of the man's way as he was barreling down the alley and I wasn't looking to turn into roadkill anytime soon Sidestepping, I let him pass me, though I knew my conscience would be guilty in the end.

The man spared me a look as he passed, but didn't do much other than that. I don't even think Nightwing noticed me as he perused the supposedly hooded man, too focused to really process much past the fact that a person was there. They went on their way, heated yells and loud bangs and shots ringing across several streets. I shook myself into action, making my way quickly back to the apartment.

When I entered the lobby, I quickly shut the door. My heart was beating too quickly for me to calm down, making me opt to sit on the floor in front of the door for a few minutes in order to calm down. That was a far too close encounter on my first day.

"You see my son." A voice said. I looked up to the man, our landlord supposedly, in confusion. He was sitting in his seat as usual, but instead of looking at his book, he was looking at me with his glasses folded on the desk. "He want to speak with you."

The man stood from his chair with a small struggle before looking at me.

"Meeting tomorrow night at poker." The man said. "Go sleep."

I nodded at him, seeing it was all I could do since I wasn't even thinking correctly enough to utter a yes or no. My mind was still muddled as I stood and shakily went upstairs, struggling to find my door and then struggling even more to open it with the key. My hands were shaking with pent up energy due to my adrenaline. It took me a minute to open the door, sequester myself inside, and then sit on one of our boxes we had laid out.

Maybe ten minutes later my phone started ringing. I picked up without even checking the caller ID, uncaring of who needed me at the time. I just really wanted sleep.

"Hello?" I asked tiredly, finally feeling the after effects of my adrenaline rush.

"Hey, long day?" A familiar voice asked. Wally sounded the same as ever, and it made me want to pour my heart out to him.

"Uh, you could say that." I said as I stood, moving to the boxes near our bedrooms. One was labeled, expertly, sleeping bags. "It was definitely full of surprises."

"Is Wayne giving you trouble?" He asked.

"No, its more like his people. Chris is still in a meeting with Lawrence tell about the financials, which he has a better head for anyway, and I just got out of a meeting with the contractor and interior designer." I said, tearing open he box. It had our sleeping bags, blowup mattresses and some pillows. "Oh, then I saw Nightwing chasing down this guy called Red Hood. They passed right by me in the same alley. Riveting stuff, I assure you."

"Are you alright?" Wally asked immediately. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"No, I got out of the way. I wasn't looking to be flattened tonight." I sighed, moving my things into my room and trying to get them all set up. "I'm way to tired to even process it, I think. It'll probably hit me worse tomorrow morning."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds before Wally spoke.

"You're okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." I nodded, though he couldn't see it. "At least, I should be after some sleep."

"Alright, should I let you go? We can talk more tomorrow." He offered.

"Yeah, I'm about to pass out." I said, yawning. "Love you Walls."

"Love you too." Wally said after a pause, letting me be the one to hang up.

* * *

Flash was not taking the separation well. In fact, the entire league wasn't taking it well. It was day two without good coffee, and some of the heroes were already getting restless. Some had even asked batman specifically when he thought their new shop would be up and running, to which he replied that it was up to Erin, to which the supers asked Flash when he though the shop would be up and running, to which he replied that Erin didn't share her business deals.

Being asked about his girlfriend that he couldn't see was really taking a toll on him. He didn't even know hew address, though he did know she'd taken up residence in Gotham's china town district. He frowned, thinking of how close Erin was to that sort of action.

He pulled out his phone, making sure to make a call to Dick.

"Hello?" Dick picked up.

"Heard you were hunting down Jason tonight." He said.

"How did you know?" He asked. "Is bats keeping an eye on me?"

"More like you almost turned my girlfriend into a pancake, to which she called me." Wally said with a small smile. "You holding up okay? I know he's your brother."

"I'm more interested in what Erin is doing in Gotham." Dick said.

"You don't know?" Wally asked, and he felt a grin spread across his face. "I guess it'll just be a surprise for you then."

"Dude, no." Dick said in exasperation. "You know I'm going to dig it up, just save me the trouble and tell me."

"Nah." Wally said. "That ruins my fun."

"You're the worst, man." Dick said, though Wally knew he didn't mean it. "Call me a little later, I'm going to attempt two hours of sleep."

"Liar, you're going to research Erin." Wally smiled. "See ya."

"Yeah, you too."

And like that, knowing that Dick was in town, Wally felt much better about Erin being in Gotham. He knew Bats wasn't going to let her out of his sight, but having one of his best friends there, who knew Erin personally, was much easier on his nerves.

Now all he needed was Erin to open up shop, and he could finally see her face again. A silly smile spread over his face as he thought about his favorite barista. The situation wasn't perfect, but it was them. He wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 **Well that turned out a bit longer than I planned. The next chapter should be about starting the new shop and then meeting the Gotham 'locals'.**

 **I've been going back and editing, adding things, taking out things that didn't fit, and working more on developing relationships between the characters. Some minor things are going to change, so if you want to keep up with the progress on m story, check my profile. At the bottom is the chapter list and where I am with the editing, which will be updated after all of my writing sessions.**

 **Thanks for all your wonderful reviews and support. As usual, I hope you enjoy.**


	12. Chapter 12

It took two long weeks of negotiations, phone calls, and frustration before I could even step foot into my new shop. Even then, the shop was half painted, the floors weren't finished being laid with hardwood, and the countertops still needed to be put in.

But it was my shop away from the shop.

I breathed in the smell of progress and smiled as I stepped further into the shop. Mr. Wayne really came in clutch in regards to the location. We were very close to the Wayne Enterprise building, and our little shop had a top floor that was more of an suite than anything we could use for the public. It would make a great office space.

In fact, that was where I was headed. It was time to start interviewing people, so we could start training as soon as the shop was finished. The first round of interviews was in a few hours. A few men and women were working on the shop and nodded to me as I passed them on the way to the stairs on the far wall. I came in enough to patronize them and stuff them full with coffee and pastries that they knew me.

As I entered the second floor, I dropped my purse onto the side table by the entrance. Our office looked more like a studio with a kitchenette and a lounge area. It was a nice space that would be a great refuge for breaks and clerical work alike.

Walking to the kitchenette, I pulled open a few cabinets and started on brewing some hot cider. The winter was harsher in Gotham than it was in Keystone, and if anything, the nice warm cider would brighten up the day and would hopefully warm up my potential employees.

If anything, I put on the cider to make the air smell like fall. As it started to really smell wonderful, footsteps coming from the stairs alerted me to the time. My first applicant was incoming. I put on a smile and turned to greet them.

Miguel Soto was a scruffy looking boy, maybe in his late teens, about two heads taller than me with nervous, shifty eyes and wrinkled clothes that were supposed to be neat. His hair was long and neatly combed, pulled back into a low ponytail with a rubber band. He looked very familiar. As his chocolate eyes found mine, he seemed to balk.

"Hello, you must be Miguel. Can I make you any cider before we start?" I smiled politely, pulling down two mugs. "I know you must be freezing. Hopefully this'll help you defrost."

The kid looked like he wanted to say something, yet he only nodded in response. I motioned for him to take a seat on the nearby couch, watching as he did just that. I ladled a bit of cider in to both of our mugs before making my way to the kid and settling down in the loveseat across from him.

"Here you go," I nodded at him to take the mug from me. He hesitantly did so, watching my hands carefully as he wrapped his hands around the warm cider. "Now, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself."

"Well, I'm sixteen" His fingers tapped nervously against the mug. "I used to go to Gotham Park Highschool until I got my GED. Now I'm looking for a job."

"Do you have any experience working in a coffee shop?" I leaned back into the love seat.

"I used to work as a dishwasher in a diner down on fourth street." He tapped a bit more before taking a sip. The kid blinked a bit into the cup, almost as if he was wondering what the cider was, before taking another sip.

"Alright, then let me give you the rundown of what we do, the expectations, hours and whatnot." I Crossed my legs and watched his reactions. "I expect you to put in for your own work hours. I don't care how many you put in for, so long as you know what you can take on. Before the shop opens, I expect you to be here for training so you can learn how to craft our drinks, how to treat customers, and how to get yourself out of sticky situations. Most of the time, you'll just have to grab either Chris, the manager, or myself.

"We get plenty of strange visitors. Mr. Freeze, Captain cold, the Flash, several gang leaders and their members, so on and so forth. You must remember that our shop is a neutral zone, neither good nor bad. We only serve coffee. If this disturbs you, I suggest you leave now." I took another nonchalant sip as the kid processed the information. He seemed to struggle with something before he asked the next question.

"What do you pay."

I smiled into my mug.

"You won't get paid for training, but I'll start you at nine dollars an hour when the shop opens. Depending on your performance, you could get a raise"

The kid took along, strong sip of the cider before he set the mug down on the coffee table between us.

"I would still like to apply for the job."

"Good." I nodded before standing and moving toward my bag. I removed a few papers before handing them to the kid. "Bring these to back here four days from now, seven AM. We start training then."

The kid took the papers from me and looked them over before taking out a pen and fillign them out. I raised an eyebrow at him, yet made no move to stop him as he completed the form in only a few minutes. The kid even pulled out a copy of his social from his back pocket and put it together with the application before handing it back to me.

"Could I start training a bit earlier?" He asked seriously.

"Erin, come grab your god damn groceries, I am not a pack mule!" A loud shout suddenly came from down the stairs. I rolled my eyes before raising my own voice with a smile.

"Aren't you the one who said you needed to start lifting?!"

"This is not what I meant, and you know it you midget, now get down here!"

"I am _trying_ to conduct an interview, get the groceries yourself!"

"It would take half the time if you would just move your fat ass!"

"Oh my god, one second Miguel." I turned to the kid. "My manager is obviously having a crisis."

With that, I went down the stairs to find Chris hauling at least ten large grocery bags on each arm. I gave him the universal 'what the fuck' gesture just before he decided to drop five bags into my hands.

"Do you need any help?" Miguel had come down the stairs behind me, apparently, and now stood in full view Chris.

"Yeah, come grab some shit and help us haul it up the stairs." He moved toward the poor boy and dropped five more bags into his arms before moving past him and up the stairs. Just as I passed the kid though, he grabbed three bags from me and moved up the stairs himself.

I blinked at the sweet gesture before following the two into the suite.

"Alright, meats, juice, dressings, and veggies go in the fridge, coffee in the far left cabinet, and everything else gets piled on the counter." Chris instructed. "Erin, chop chop."

"Bit me, fucker." I dropped my groceries on the counter with a half-annoyed grimace.

"I'm sorry, I'm gay." Chris smiled smugly at me before turning to the kid. "Miguel Soto, nice to meet you. Sorry to come in so late, but I'm sure Erin was giving you the rundown."

"I was just going to hand her the application back." Miguel stared at us with wide eyes as we worked together in tandem to put our groceries in exactly the right spots, no words necessary.

"Oh, you already filled it out?" Chris put leaned onto the counter with an almost proud smile. "Good, let me see it."

"It's on the table, go grab it yourself." I turned sharply. "And at don't you dare keep any semblance of professionalism now. You already fucked it up royally."

"Such language!" Chris put a hand over his heart as if he were scandalized. "There is a minor present."

I had to seriously fight off the urge to flip him off. Miguel looked both relieved and amused by our banter, probably lightening up far more than he did during the main part of the interview. I turned to him with interest.

"Well, you haven't run away screaming, so I guess you don't mind us acting unprofessional." I handed him a jug of milk. "About starting early, I wouldn't mind you coming by around three on Thursday and Friday this week. Either Chris or I will run you through some basics. How does that sound?"

A relieved look appeared on the kid's face as he took the milk from my grasp.

"Thank you so much." He nodded with a full smile, the first one he's shone since he'd been in my presence.

"No problem, kid." I smiled back. "I'll give you our phone numbers before you leave, just in case anything pops up or you have any questions."

And like that, Miguel became a familiar face in our shop. Even though we asked him to show at three, he would show up at two thirty, 'just to be on time'. He learned the basics of brewing and some specialty drinks in no time, and he also shows a lot of interest in baking pastries.

All three of us were in the office late on Friday night. Chris was running through some incoming inventory, I was finishing up on filing applications, and Miguel was baking my specialty pumpkin pie. The teen stood there wearing one of my aprons, splattered slightly with flour, focused in on forming the pie crust just right.

"Miguel, do you like smooth Jazz?" I finished the files and put them in my briefcase before engaging the teen in conversation.

"I haven't listened to it much." He answered sheepishly.

"Don't get her started, she has a crazy obsession with jazz music." Chris's eyes never left his computer screen.

"Fight me, snowflake." I stretched languidly in response. "Anyway, we play a lot of it in the shop back home. You should find a few songs you like so we can add it to the playlist."

The teen nodded, eyes turning back to study the pie crust again. I smirked a but before I went to join him. The poor kid was going to have an aneurism if he kept up what he was doing. So, I started explaining my recipe in more depth. In maybe thirty minutes, the pie was safely in the oven and both Miguel and I were splattered with flour.

Chris took one look at us and sighed.

"You're teaching him bad habits." He frowned at our flour splotches.

"You're lucky we didn't have a food fight." I smiled sweetly just as my phone started to ring. I pulled it out of my pocket and let my smile go wider at the name on the caller ID. "Hold on, I've got to take this."

"Lover boy calling, I got it." Chris rolled his eyes before looking at Miguel. "You know it's him when she gets that look. Either Wally or coffee imports."

Miguel let out a startled laugh at that, leaving me to flip them both off as I went downstairs to answer the phone.

"Hey handsome, already turning in for the night?" I smiled into the receiver.

"More like gearing up to put in a few more hours." Wally answered, and I could hear the fatigue in his voice.

"Walls, it's almost eleven thirty over there!" My smile had dropped instantly. "How many cars have those men wrecked this week to give you so much overtime."

"C'mon Erin, it's nothing like that." There was rustling on his end of the line, along with a few muffled voices. "I'm just doing some leftover work for the squad and then I'll be home, no need to worry."

"Alright," I sighed, "So long as you get more sleep tomorrow night. I swear, it's like you're schedule gets busier and busier the more the weeks go on."

"Well, It's been a few hectic weeks at the tower."

"The tower?"

* * *

Wally had been run ragged over the last few weeks. First the league needed him across space to take care of something in a whole other sector, to which he could barely call Erin and made her worry nonstop because his phone kept cutting in and out. Then, he had overtime at his day job and a slew of monitor duty at HQ, and then he had a life-threatening mission in the middle of Africa.

The only thing he wanted to do now was go home, eat, call his girlfriend, and then sleep.

However, he was yet again stuck on monitor duty because GL had been called suddenly to Oa and they needed him to cover, as if he didn't have his own personal life. So, he had to settle with crossing two things off his list of four.

So, when he finished eating and decided to call his lovely barista, he should have been more aware of his words. His little slip up reminded him of who he was supposed to be at the time. She was speaking to Wally, not Flash.

"The tower?" He could hear her confusion.

"Sorry, it's something the guys have been saying lately." Flash covered smoothly. Martian Manhunter, who was in the room with him, raised an eyebrow at the save but said nothing of it. "Anyway, how is work. Is this Miguel kid working out?"

There was a pause on the other end. Flash could tell she was debating pushing the subject of his workload and rest hours, but he also knew that it was a conversation they'd had before and they both knew that they shouldn't dictate each other's work.

"Yeah, he's actually doing great. He's picking up everything much quicker than I thought he would." She continued. "He might just be able to help out with training next week if he comes in over the weekend."

"That's great." Wally smiled, glad that one of their jobs was going right at least. "You sound tired though."

"I know." She sighed, though she sounded content. "But it's a good kind of tired. I feel satisfied, you know?"

"I know the feeling, trust me." He leaned back, eyes trailing over the monitors as better topic of conversation came to mind. "So, thanksgiving is coming up."

"You're right." Her voice tensed a little.

"Do you think you'll be able to come home for a bit, celebrate, help me bake a turkey, let me introduce you to my aunt and uncle."

Wally's was nervous she would say no, though he wouldn't let his voice betray his coy demeanor.

"Your uncle? I thought you were only close with your aunt Iris."

"Uncle Barry, er, came home suddenly from a trip overseas. A long one." Flash covered quickly.

A pause ensued for a few seconds.

"Uh-huh." Came the disbelieving voice of his barista. "Alright, I'll come home to meet Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris."

"You will?" Hope appeared in Wally's voice. He hadn't seen Erin in a month, and damn did he miss her.

"Yeah, if only to see if Uncle Barry actually exists."

Wally let out a startled laugh.

"Only to see if Uncle Barry exists?"

"And to make sure my shop is still standing."

"Anything else?"

"Okay, so maybe I have a boyfriend waiting for me."

"He must be a very good guy if you're willing to come back for him."

"Sure he is." She snorted. "Anyway, is there anything that I need to bring for dinner? Stuffing, sandwiches, turkey, pie?"

"Yes."

"Wally, that is not an answer."

"Yes it is."

"Wally!"

"One of these days, I'm going to get you to make a feast and we're going to finish every last bite, just the two of us."

"So long as you wash the dishes, I have no problems with this arrangement."

"Christmas it is then." Wally smiled so brightly, he could feel his cheeks start to ache.

"Wally!"

"Just making sure I trap you into obligations early." His smile could be heard in his voice, and Erin's reflected his emotions.

"Okay, all major holidays then." A light tapping could be heard on her end, as if she were frustrated with him. "And you better eat every bite."

"Promise." His smile was getting wider and wider, although she couldn't see it. "So long as you—"

His voice cut off as an alert came in from metropolis. Giganta, Bizzaro, and Black Atom were wreaking havoc in Superman's city, but the Hero in question was off planet.

"Wally, is everything alright at the station?"

Erin's worried voice cut through his focus.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen Erin, there's an emergency, but I'll call you tomorrow, alright?"

"Yeah." Came her hesitant reply. "Just stay safe where you are. Love you."

"Love you too."

And like that, Wally was back to being the Flash.

"If you keep hanging up on her like that, she's going to get suspicious." J'onn's eyes watched Wally struggle with switching between his two personas.

Honestly, he knew it was getting increasingly harder for Wally to maintain his two different personalities when he was around the barista. If anything, the two were starting to meld into one more cohesive person, which might get Flash in trouble in the long run.

 _He should just tell her,_ J'onn thought, although his assertion on that was because his cut in the next bet was riding on the flash outing himself within the next three months.

"You know what else is suspicious?" Flash's eyes never left the screen, but his mouth showed how annoyed that his phone call was cut short. "Eavesdropping on other people's phone calls."

Martian Manhunter let the man be and quit his plotting to get the man to be honest with his girlfriend, instead opting to put together a team to help deal with Superman's absence in Metropolis.

* * *

Training went insanely well, if I did say so myself. The newly minted baristas would be able to handle themselves in the shop, hopefully they won't have to worry too much about getting mugged, and that only left opening the shop to the general public left.

It was the night before opening, and both Chris and I were sharing some Irish coffee in the shop when the phone range. We gave each other strange looks, Chris moving to mute the TV.

I picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Erin, you picked up," a slightly disgruntled voice came through the phone. "Good."

"Um, who is this?"

"Mr. Freeze."

"Oh." Well that's very out of the ordinary, I thought. I knew I told him I'd be in Gotham for the foreseeable future, but I didn't think he had my number just yet. Maybe it was one of his supervillain powers, who knew? "What can I do for you?"

"Would you be so kind as to bring me my regular up at Arkham tomorrow afternoon?" He seemed very anxious about this favor.

"Did you use your one phone call to order a Frappe?" I sighed.

"Erin, please, you're smarter than that." He sniffed. "I used Harley Quinn's one phone call."

"You can exchange calls?"

"There are a lot of things you can do in Arkham." A low tapping noise and a few muffled grunts could be heard on the other end of the line, as if Mr. Freeze was gesturing at someone while speaking. "Now, I know I can't pay you just yet, but could you put it on my tab?"

"It'll be fifty for delivery."

"You're practically robbing me."

"And you're making me bring you coffee in jail."

"True enough. We have a deal."

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow around two."

As soon as I put the phone down, Chris gave me a harsh glare as if to call me an idiot for agreeing to deliver coffee.

"What?"

"You have literally no sense of self preservation, do you?" He said it as if it weren't a question, eyes travelling back to the TV.

"If I'm getting paid, I don't." My eyes followed his. "And you like Freeze, what are you even talking about?"

"It's not him I'm worried about, it's the guards. They're not friendly to anyone." Chris Sighed. "Arkham is rated the worst mental Asylum in the US because of their treatment of patients and their low success rates. They're brutal. If you want to win them over, bring like eight extra cups of coffee. _Hot._ "

"Just send me with a large box." I sighed.

And with that, it was decided that I was travelling to Arkham Asylum the next day.

* * *

Opening day was crazy! We were packed to the brim due to subtle advertisements put out by Mr. Wayne in the newspapers, and all the traffic was drawing in more and more people who wanted to know what as going on.

We had eight people working behind the counter, Chris on the tables, and Miguel on the register. I was behind the counter as well, but instead of working on those the orders in the shop, I was working on the orders for Arkham.

"Welcome to _Iolaus_." I heard Chris greet a few people at the door.

"Why Greek names again?" Miguel appeared at my side to help me in packing the drinks.

"I have a thing for Greek Tragedies." I popped the lids hurriedly on the last few drinks before placing them in the carrier. "The first shop is _Ismene_."

"Who was that again?"

"Daughter of Oedipus, really liked rules and regulations and was very logical."

"You hate rules."

"And therein lies the irony of the name." I smiled as I tied up the bag.

"And who was Iolaus?"

"I'll tell you later. Right now, I gotta blast." I hurriedly threw my coat and gloves on before grabbing the thermal drink carrier and rushing out the door.

To get to Arkham, I had to take a taxi. It was on an island, separated from the city by a bridge that takes ten minutes to drive over, and that was just to get to the creepy looking gate out front. Instead of looking like a mental hospital, it looked like it started with the house from _The Haddam's Family_ and then someone thought it was a good idea to renovate it with straight concrete into something like a fortress.

If I were forced to spend a good amount of time there, I'd go insane for sure. This was not a good place to be in regard to keeping a good mental health.

Oh, the irony.

As I paid the driver and stepped out of the taxi, I was immediately met with two hulking guards with intense RBFS. Or maybe those were just frowns. They did have to work out in the freezing weather all day, I could understand a but of standoffishness.

"Afternoon, gentlemen!" I smiled pleasantly. "I'm here to visit Mr. Freeze."

"You got an appointment?" One looked me up and down with disinterest while the other took to tapping his nightstick in the palm of his open hand.

"I received a call yesterday for an order." I showed them the thermal carrier. "And since I was coming over, I thought I might hand out a few drinks. Are you thirsty? They're piping hot."

Neither of them looked tempted.

"How do we know they're not poisoned." He glared at me with an intensity that gave me the idea he had already been poisoned like that, poor guy.

"I can take a sip before you do, if you'd like." I shrugged. Both guards shared a look. "I have two mochas with double shots of espresso, two java chips, and two salted hot chocolates with whip."

"The java chip." The second guard put his nightstick away. I took out the drink carefully as to not disturb the others, took a small sip, then handed the drink to the guard. He gave me a pointed look at the cup, as if in question.

"Don't worry, I'm not sick." I laughed slightly before my eyes turned to the first guard. "And you?"

"I don't care." His gravely voice seemed tired and dry.

"Honestly, you might take better to the hot chocolate." I pulled the drink out and took a small sip before handing it over. "Nothing better for cold weather."

The guard didn't seem to care as he took the cup out of my hand and motioned for me to go through the gate. They walked me to the front door, both taking periodic sips from their cups. I felt a little satisfaction when their shoulders lost a little bit of tension and their faces turned from frowns to neutral expressions.

I was greeted by a doctor at the front door who looked none too friendly.

"Erin, I presume." His voice was calculating and distrusting, which I could understand. "He's been expecting you."

"Wonderful."

The doctor, who didn't offer his own name, motioned for me to follow him. I immediately knew I didn't like his attitude from his first words, but my feelings were reaffirmed when he opened his mouth to warn me.

"We'll be making our way through the rogues gallery." He stated, cold and calculating eyes snapping to look at me for a few seconds. "If I were you, I'd keep my head down and my hands to my sides."

"I'm carrying coffee, if you hadn't noticed." I snapped. "So my hands will stay on the coffee, thank you very much."

The doctor sniffed but did not deign my words important enough to articulate an answer. Hell, he probably didn't want to waste his breath on someone who wasn't a patient, and therefore not worth his time.

I was lead up several flights of stairs and to a door marked 'High Security' on it. The doctor pushed his way in, and I only followed his lead. I was eager to see who was a part of the rogues gallery at the moment. I assumed it wouldn't be a full house since there was a large breakout as of late.

"Hiya, Doc!" An exuberant voice called. "Who ya got there?"

The cells were made up of bullet proof glass and concrete, it seemed. The front of the cell was a glass so that any orderly, guard or doctor could see in, but concrete so none of the cellmates except the one across could look in on you. Mediocre privacy, I thought. I looked toward the voice, offering a polite smile but no words.

Harley Quinn had interest painted plainly on her face as she watched us walk passed. Her blonde hair was braided neatly, unlike how I found it on the television, and her skin was a normal color rather than the painted white with dark circles for eyes. She smiled back at me with crazed interest, but no malicious intent.

Across from her, a redheaded woman shuffled, but made no move to interact with us, as if she held no interest. Just passed her was a man with large, thick glasses. He took an interest.

"Don't even think about it, Nygma." The doctor shut the man down just as he opened his mouth. I passed with a smile and a nod in his direction. The man gave me a playful smile and a wave back.

The other cells were empty, but I supposed that was because the rogues were either loose, or they were at their appointments. It was a mental hospital after all, they must have some form of therapy that the patients had to attend.

At the end of the room was a bolted door that lead the doctor and I into an observing room. A cell could be seen through the glass, obviously kept at a frozen temperature. Icicles were hanging off the bed and in the corners of the ceiling, frost had collected on the wall, and even the blanket on the bed seemed frigid with cold. However, the patient seemed alive and well.

"Ah, you've finally arrived." Mr. Freeze's eyes watched my ever move, yet he still greeted me politely. It was just the way he was.

"Hello Mr. Freeze!" I cheerily waved at him. He was one of my more frequent customers, and I didn't want him to move business anytime soon. "I see you're back in Arkham again."

"And you're still making coffee." He smiled fondly at me through the glass. "My usual, dear?"

"Yes, of course." I nodded. The doctor gave me a calculating look, but made no move to stop me when I pulled the drink from its separate thermal pocket in the drink carrier. "Sorry, but how can I get this to you?"

"Just put it through the slot."

"Ah."

There was a slot on the door, where I could put the drink it, close the latch, and he could pull it back in on his end so the outside temperature wouldn't affect him. I watched him grasp the cup gingerly, as if it were hot to him, before taking a tentative sip.

"Ah, magical as always." He nodded towards me. "Now, what is going on in yourlife? The new shop is going well, I hope."

"Today is the grand opening, so we won't know our standings for a couple months." I shrugged. "You can tell me what you think when you finally come visit me."

"And Christopher is doing well."

"He's annoying the hell out of me, as usual, but he's doing alright. We just hired a bunch of new people though, but you'd really like this one kid. His name is Miguel, a real sweetheart."

"Make sure he has no ties with the mafia."

"If he does, it doesn't bother me."

"You're too trusting."

"And you have coffee because of it."

"Too true." He nodded. "Just don't get yourself killed. You're the only person who can make a decent cup of coffee these days."

"Will do." I started packing up my bag. "Well, I'll be on my way then. Grand openings only happen once in a shop's life if you're lucky."

"Of course." Mr. Freeze took another sip of his drink and his shoulders visibly lost some tension. "Don't take the subway from this district if you can help it. I'm sure you don't need to ask why."

"Yup."

With that, I turned away from the glass and exited the chamber as the doctor followed me. He had watched our conversation in silence, but the new spark in his eye told me that he took a newfound interest in our relationship.

"Miss Grey was it?" He put a hand on my shoulder.

"Sure, let's go with that." I brushed it off with a look of disdain.

"I would like to ask a few questions concerning your relationship with Mr. Fries." He began.

"Freeze is a loyal customer who has never made any trouble in my shop, end of story." I cut him off. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have no time to divulge any sort of phycological tendencies to you."

"You tell him!" An exuberant cry came from a few cells down. Harley Quinn obviously liked that I wasn't going to take any bullshit from the doctor.

"Thank you, Miss Quinn." I replied as I passed her cell. Her grin was even wider than before, and it also looked as if it were touched with pride. I kept walking, however, and didn't spare a glance back at the asylum until I was safely in a taxi where I could peacefully rage about how absolutely disgusting Arkham was and how disturbingly it treated its patients.

Mental Hospital my ass.

* * *

 **So, I recognize this is late. I also recognize that I tried a tad different writing style, wherein lies the reason for the long wait.**

 **Also, I wrote a funeral scene. I honestly cannot wait until I get to that part. Fun stuff.**

 **As always, please enjoy and we'll talk in the next update.**

RAW 11/13/2017


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